


The Legend of Whetu Kealoha

by Macavity116



Series: Stormbreaker Spinoff Series [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Dramatic Irony, Exploration, Gen, Hand to Hand Combat, Māori Mythology & Folklore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:54:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 62,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26960980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Macavity116/pseuds/Macavity116
Summary: Roughly 400 years before the events of Faith in Chaos, a young Partogan girl is called upon to lead a mission to save her people from starvation.
Series: Stormbreaker Spinoff Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967476
Kudos: 1





	1. After the End of the World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is a spinoff of the now-completed Stormbreaker Trilogy, and takes place in between the events of the first two installments, After Everything and Faith in Chaos.

The storm was so powerful, so ferocious, and so seemingly determined to destroy all in its path that one would be forgiven for believing the entire world was about to end. In fact, one would share that opinion with the people aboard a large fleet of boats that had been caught in the storm. The flotilla was made from wood, and the boats which comprised it varied in size from small pathfinders to great carriers of bulk and passengers. Against the fury of the ocean, these vessels stood no chance. One by one, timbers began to break. Pathfinder boats and Waka canoes tipped over and capsized before breaking into pieces. Brigs, filled with passengers, were tossed about in the furious waves before spilling untold hundreds of people into the raging sea.

Then, without warning, a black mass loomed over the already darkened horizon. As one, the formation of wooden ships crashed into the coastline! No vessel survived the impact, and the total number of fatalities from this horrendous landfall may never be truly known. But there were survivors, many of them.

Two types of people emerged from the wreckage: First came a race of large hair-covered people. They walked on four legs, keeping their tails and pointed ears low. On another world, incomprehensibly far away from here, the people would have called these four-legged felines “Lions.” But we shall refer to them by their own name, _Levakians_. These were the original natives of a distant land known as Levakia, from which they had escaped.

The second group of people were mostly hairless and bipedal. They wore hand-woven cloaks and skirts, most made from grass, flax, string, animal hide, and feathers. The hair atop their heads varied in color between grey and silver and white. The skin of these people was dark, most often some shade of brown. The overwhelming majority of these people bore tattoos on their skin. Beautiful patterns and spirals decorated their faces, chests, and arms in ink. In the darkness of the storm, their purple eyes stood out most of all. These men and women prefer to call themselves either “Maori” or “Tangata whenua.” But before many generations pass, both of these names would fall out of use in favor of the moniker created and given by the Levakians. Therefore, we shall refer to these people by their new name: _Partogans._

Their boats shattered and useless, the refugees had no choice but to hike inland to seek shelter. Keeping hold of hands and paws, the two groups set out in defiance of the blistering winds and driving rain, further into the mysterious land that was now going to be their home.

The next day, the sun came out.

Only some five thousand people survived the initial landing. Struggling against the subsiding typhoon, the Partogans and Levakians pulled dozens, then hundreds of wrecked boats onto shore before tearing them apart, using their lumber to build a settlement just beyond the water.

The newly-founded city of Candon had been built on an unfortunate location. The land which lay beyond the sea had fallen victim to the same disaster that had struck the rest of the world. Most flora and fauna were either dead or just barely clinging to life, and the whole region was covered in a thick layer of ash and soot. Countless trees had dropped their leaves as though winter had come early. Further inland, lakes and rivers were so choked with detritus that no one dared attempt to drink from them. This place was a wasteland. Yet it was better than where the refugees had come from.

About a month after landfall, Candon had grown. Additional boats arrived as more and more people evacuated the lands of Levakia, allowing smaller villages to spring up around Candon’s walls. Their people fled from acrid fog, withering fields, cold sunlight, and poisoned water; all of which had been heralded by a cataclysmic noise that shook buildings, quaked the ground, and frightened all who heard it. The dry fog that smothered Levakia to death was not present here, and that seemed to make all the difference in the world.

Crops brought from Levakia could survive and grow here, but before any planting could be done, the topsoil had to be cleared of ash. It was backbreaking work for all, and the demand for food was great, lest the workers collapse in the fields. This created a new problem. Only so much food and water had been brought from Levakia, and some of it had been lost in the disastrous landfall. To fend off starvation, Partogans and Levakians were left with no choice but to explore the neighboring wilderness, foraging for whatever food or water they could find.

What happened to these foragers would set in motion a series of events that would ultimately culminate hundreds of years later, when the descendants of these Partogans and Levakians shall become part of an even greater legend.

Five hundred years before the birth of Jericho, someone else’s story is about to begin…

…

A group of four Partogans found themselves on the edge of the barren flatlands, a quiet and lonesome place. Keeping beneath the shade of the trees, they wondered just where they had taken a wrong turn. All four of these individuals were teenagers, and as such, were filled with youthful energy that they were quick to turn and use against one another.

The first to speak was a girl with light brown skin and silver hair. Her bottom lip was stained black and a pair of fishhook-like shapes were tattooed onto her chin. Taki Tamihana undid the straps of her satchel and let it fall to the ground, the better to grab her companion and shake him vigorously whilst saying:

“See! I was right! We should have followed the river! Now we’re lost!”

Taki let go of her friend, folded her arms, and sulked. Her male companion was closer to being a man than a boy. His shoulders were broad and adorned with a large tattoo that enveloped his entire left shoulder and arm, decorating his body in stylized shapes. Enoka Ihaka struggled to find something to say, stammering:

“But, I’m still sure we’re going the right way!” He finally replied. “Those Madu Cabolo trees we saw-”

“Are not here!” Taki interrupted. “They’re not here because they were on the first ridgeline, not this one! Just admit when you’re wrong and we can move on already!”

Meanwhile another girl, this one with caramel skin and shiny silver hair, stooped down to recover the bag of berries Taki had dropped. Whetu Kealoha was the only member of the foursome who did not have any tattoos.

“How about we stop arguing for a minute and get our bearings again?” she said. “We just need t-”

“Oh, don’t you start on me, too!” Enoka snapped!

He shot a glare at Whetu Kealoha, failing to read the hurt expression on her face.

“I’ve just about had enough of your attitude today!” Enoka went on. “I know where I am and I know where I’m going! Will you just listen to me for once in your lives!?”

“Wait, do you really know where we are?” Whetu asked. “Cause we really need to know.”

“Yes, I do!” Enoka sounded very exasperated now. “Come on, Whetu, I thought you were on my side!”

“Prove it!” Taki sniped. “You turn around and walk back to Candon, right now! Show us the way if you’re so smart!”

Without another word, Enoka dropped his foraging bags, turned on his heel, and marched back the way he had come, through the trees and back towards the river. He didn’t even check to see if the girls were following him. They weren’t. Whetu and Taki were left shocked and silent, their jaws open. They barely noticed when a third girl spoke.

Mira Mihaka’s voice was so quiet and soft that it could have been easily missed. Luckily, she had a habit of speaking in a slow and deliberate fashion, so every word could be made out clearly:

“He is going the wrong way.”

Turning to face their companion, Taki and Whetu realized that Mira was lagging behind the group this entire time and had only now just rejoined them. Mira was a short and somewhat out-of-shape girl. She had dark brown skin and wavy grey hair, and her most interesting physical feature was a tattoo that wrapped around her entire right forearm. Stretching from wrist to elbow, a highly stylized image of a hawk decorated Mira’s right arm while an array of symbols and pictographs completed the ink sleeve.

“Lemme guess.” Taki groaned. “You knew where we were the whole time, right?”

Mira shook her head.

“I am where I am. I cannot be anywhere else yet. I must practice more.”

Taki and Whetu rolled their eyes at one another.

“And what about my soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend?” Whetu asked.

“He does not practice.” Mira said in that slow, pensive voice of hers. “He cannot be where he is not. Tohunga Nixie says I must practice more before I can be where I am not.”

“Uh, okay… right.” Taki murmured before she whispered in Whetu’s ear: “What the hell did your sister tell her this time!?”

“Probably more of the same.” Whetu admitted. “I think we should call it a day and head back to town. It’ll be dark in a few hours anyway.”

Whetu, Mira, and Taki took stock of the berries and nuts they had spent the day collecting before turning back towards Candon. They could see Enoka trudging along the grassland ahead of them, kicking up plumes of ash as he went along. While they walked, Taki questioned Whetu about how series her intentions were.

Truthfully, Whetu admitted to both Taki and herself, this had been a long time coming. As far as romantic partnerships and possible future husbands went, Enoka Ihaka was starting to emerge as the wrong kind of man for Whetu. His short temper and inability to admit wrongdoing had been a problem before, but this was the straw the broke the man’s back. Enoka had abandoned his girlfriend near the desert with an equally-short-tempered tomboy and a possibly-crazy person. Nope, as far as Whetu was concerned, Enoka had run out of chances.

The trio of girls were about halfway back to Candon when a thunderous noise reached their ears. Taki, Mira, and Whetu all looked around to see where it was coming from. The sounds of metal rustling, feet stamping on the ground, and angry shouts came from the top of a nearby hill; and then, Whetu heard the voice of a fully grown man shouting:

“Yameru! Idō shinai!”

Eight warriors, wearing clothing unlike anything Whetu had ever seen before and carrying shining swords, raced down the hill and were on the three Partogans in an instant! One of the men was wearing a frightful metal mask that bore an image of monstrous teeth and a demonic tongue! As his men surrounded Whetu, Mira, and Taki, he pointed his sword towards the girls and yelled:

“Sore o hōki! Tewatasu!”

All three girls were too frightened to do anything but scream and cower! They were completely defenseless! Whetu and her friends had no weapons, and all three girls were too frightened to act! Mira got down on her knees and covered her head while Taki began to panic, looking frantically from one warrior to the next! Realizing that neither of her friends were going to do anything to save themselves, Whetu decided she’d rather try something and be killed for it instead of just waiting for the end. She tore off her own satchel bag, filled with a day’s worth or foraged nuts and berries, then threw it towards one of the warriors in desperation!

“Take it!” Whetu shrieked, “Take it all, just don’t hurt us, please!”

The bag hit the masked swordsman and spilled its contents all over the ground! At once, all eight warriors forgot about the girls completely and dove on the fallen food! The warriors began to argue and fight among one another for the fallen berries and nuts while Taki and Mira both dropped their bags and fled, screaming! Whetu brought up the rear, darting into the tall grass and away from the ambush! The rapid flight of the three girls through the field kicked up a small storm of ashes. This, combined with their frightened screams, masked the approach of two rescuers.

Keeping low, a pair of Levakians paused only to allow Whetu to pass by. Then, they began to stalk the distracted swordsmen. One of them stopped looting the bags and stood up, trying to see where the three girls had gone. Then, the lionesses pounced! The hapless warrior couldn’t raise his sword in time and fell! Seeing their comrade go down, the seven remaining attackers began to flee, racing towards the western horizon, some of them screaming as loudly as the girls had been!

Still running as fast as she could towards town, Whetu felt the thudding of paws grow louder than her own frantic heartbeat! To her left, a voice yelled:

“Sister of the Tohunga! On my back!”

The lioness pulled ahead of Whetu just enough for the girl to throw herself up and astride the great feline. Looking around, she saw that Taki was also riding a lion. Mira was nowhere to be seen.

“Wait! Mira’s back there!” Whetu shouted. “We can’t leave her!”

The Levakian turned around, loping back towards the point of the ambush. Poor Mira, too slow for her own good, had fallen very far behind. She was winded and unable to jog, let alone run. Keeping hold of the lioness’ neck with one hand, Whetu reached out and grabbed her friend, pulling her up and onto the lioness’ back in a maneuver that is exactly as painful as one imagines it to be. Exhausted beyond the ability to speak, Whetu and Mira held on for dear life as the Levakian raced for home.

…

Concerned adults were waiting at the town gate. (which had once been the cabin of a ship) When Whetu and Mira rode into town on the back of the Levakian, they saw Enoka being held in place by his angry-looking father. No sooner had Whetu and her friends been dropped by their rescuers than the Mihaka, Tamihana, and Kealoha families swarmed around their daughters in a tearful reunion! While Whetu’s mother held her close, her father had questions for the Levakians:

“What happened out there? Who are you?”

The older of the two lions, a huntress with shiny bronze fur, replied:

“My name is Demeter, and this is my sister, Hysperia. Our father is Jira, King of the Imperial Pride. Your cubs were attacked by the Snowskins of the West. We saw from afar, and interceded.”

The mention of Snowskins caused anxious silence around the group. Whetu got the sense that everybody wanted to ask for more information, but were too frightened to do so.

…

That night, there was a gathering around the great firepit in town. Hundreds of Partogans and Levakians were present, including the highest-ranking members of the community: The six Levakian Kings and the six Partogan Rangatira.

Each Levakian pride was ruled by a strong male who had, more often than not, fought and defeated the previous ruler. Pride leaders were so important that the title of “King” came naturally to them. Rangatira, on the other hand, were wise elders who assumed the leadership role over large extended Partogan families. The size of a family contributed to its power over the others, as did the occupation of its members. There were six Rangatira, each one representing the most powerful Partogan families: Ririnui, Patariki, Mihaka, Tamihana, Ranginui, and Kealoha. These men could be identified by large and complex tattoos that covered their whole upper bodies, including their faces.

When she arrived at the firepit, Whetu made sure to bow before her own Rangatira before sitting down. Sarda Kealoha was an incredibly old man. He had been among the first generation of Partogans born after their integration into Levakian society, and therefore he did not possess the normal Partogan features. His hair was black and his eyes were some shade of hazel, if not a little brown. Only Partogans whose parents had been exposed to the magic of Levakian witches were born with white hair and purple eyes.

Sarda and the other five Rangatira conversed with their Levakian counterparts by the fire for a few moments before turning to face the assembled people.

“After today, we are certain now that the Snowskin people are present in this land.” A Levakian King began. “This means that we have not landed on one of the Broken Isles, as previously thought, but on the Little Continent itself.”

Rangatira Midak stepped forward. The pictographic tattoos on his body told a story of exploration and journeys to distant frontiers. This man was the leader of the Tamihana family.

“Before this disaster shook our world,” Midak explained. “The Snowskins built a kingdom here. They practiced war and made terrible weapons. The one who calls himself their ‘King’ wields evil magic, a corruption of the power our Levakian friends possess.”

Another King spoke.

“Our great Empress sought to make war upon the Snowskins, to diminish their power. A Levakian Army was being assembled in Tauranga for the upcoming conflict. However, before the expedition could be launched, the end of the world came upon us.”

“It’s clear the Snowskins have been visited by the same disaster.” The Ranginui elder chimed in; “Like us, they struggle for food and drink and know not where their next meal will come from. This makes them dangerous.”

Finally, a grey and brown lion spoke. This was King Jira, the father of the two lionesses who had rescued Whetu today. He ruled over the Pride of which the Empress of Levakia was a member.

“To ascertain the nature of the threat, I have dispatched huntresses into the wildlands.” Jira addressed the town. “They will scout the Snowskins and report back to us. With luck, we shall avoid any future ambushes like today. Until my scouts return, I ask all of you to remain inside the walls for your own safety.”

…

On the one hand, Whetu really didn’t mind being made to stay inside the town walls for a few days. Her feet hurt from weeks of foraging farther and farther from home, and she was in no hurry for another encounter with those terrifying Snowskins. On the other hand, this meant that there was now no way to avoid Enoka, or the painful conversation she would need to have with him.

To make matters even worse, Enoka found Whetu first. At the time, she was on top of the grassy hill at the center of town, where her older sister performed her duties as Tohunga.

Tohunga are the spiritual leaders of the Partogan community. They commune directly with the spiritual realms, pass along oral traditions, maintain the Tapu, and perform religious ceremonies. There are many types of Tohunga, each with a different role and task. Whetu’s sister was a “Tohunga Kōkōrangi.” It was her duty to observe and study the stars, charting their course across the heavens and using their movements to perform divination.

While she was performing her nightly duties, Nixie Kealoha became Tapu, meaning her body was sacrosanct, and therefore not allowed to come into contact with anything “mundane.” Whetu not only had to prepare Nixie’s midnight meal for her, but she also had to feed her as well, since Nixie was not allowed to touch food with her own hands while she was performing her duties. While feeding her own sibling with a stick, Whetu started to wonder if becoming a Tohunga was in her future, now that marriage seemed to be off the table.

Nixie sat on a specially made platform and observed the heavens above while Whetu rested on the ground, making sure to point her feet away from her sister. Being so late at night, Whetu struggled to pay attention to Nixie’s lecture about the recent movements of the Great Red Star. In this place, the nights are extremely cold. Whetu wore two cloaks, one over the other, just to keep warm, and was about to fall asleep when a noise behind her caught her attention.

Enoka was about halfway up the hill, leaving the fledgling town of Candon below as he approached. He was trying to ascend in silence, but grass and rocks shifted beneath his feet, giving him away. Moving as quietly as she could, Whetu sprang up and darted down the path to meet him.

“No!” Whetu hissed in the dark. “Bad time! Tapu!”

Enoka stopped in his tracks and allowed Whetu to intercept him. He reached out his arms as though expecting a hug or kiss, but Whetu denied him. Sensing her anger, Enoka launched into a speech that felt a little rehearsed:

“Look, I know you’re angry about this afternoon, and I’m sorry about those Snowskins who jumped you. It’s just… Taki got under my skin, you know she does that a lot, and we were getting so frustrated with not finding a lot of food and…”

“Yeah, stop.” Whetu put a hand on Enoka’s chest to make him stop talking. “I can look past the arguing and the stubbornness, but you didn’t admit when you screwed up, you shouted at me when I tried to calm you guys down, and then you left us in the middle of the wild right when we actually needed you! I can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry.”

She stepped away from Enoka and finished:

“I’m gonna talk to my father tomorrow morning. He’s going to tell you to stop seeing me. You hear me, Enoka? It’s over.”

Enoka’s face was hard to read in the darkness, but Whetu got the distinct impression that he was not taking this well. Just when she was starting to fear a physical retaliation, Nixie’s voice rang out from the top of the hill!

“Oh, my! It’s happening! It’s happening!”

Without a second thought, Whetu turned and started jogging back up the hill, towards the relative safety of her older sister’s Tapu. Sure enough, Enoka did not follow. He dared not violate Nixie’s sacred work with his unwelcome presence.

On the grassy hilltop, Nixie had gotten to her feet and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. She pointed towards the southern sky. A red star, winking faintly, was visible near the horizon. Whetu recognized it immediately as a “Wanderer.” There were precisely six Wanderers in the night sky, and they were named after gods and demigods from the old legends. The Wanderers were so fickle that their position in the heavens would shift continuously. The Great Red Star (Sometimes known as Māui) was currently passing between two dim stars that were part of the constellation _Mahuika_ , named after the Goddess of Fire. This was no doubt what had caused Nixie’s reaction.

“Oh, wow.” Whetu commented. “Does Mahuika know Māui is flying under her skirt like that? Is he going to steal fire again?”

“Māui is clever.” Nixie replied. “He tricked Mahuika into attacking him with fire so that he could steal it. All the world suffered Mahuika’s burning fury until the God of Weather doused the flames. To see his great trick repeated is a warning. The calamity we have survived is not over yet. There are more blows to come.”

Whetu shuddered. _More to come?_ What else could happen now? She and her family had been driven from their homes in Kaitaia, shipwrecked in this strange new land, and now had run afoul of some enemy of the Levakians. What else could happen?

What else could possibly go wrong!?


	2. What Happened Beneath the Smoky Skies

Neither Whetu nor any of her friends had eaten a proper meal in over a week. They tried to subsist on grass and seaweed, but it just wasn’t enough. Unable to go beyond the walls to forage, the people of Candon had been forced to ration what little food supplies remained. For Partogans, this was a reasonable, if uncomfortable, course of action. A healthy Partogan can live for roughly three weeks without a meal. For Levakians, however, rationing was a death sentence.  
  
It is a common fact of the world that big cats, sentient or otherwise, can only survive a few days without a meal. Levakians, due to their great size and weight, can only live for three days without food. The deaths began soon after the gates were barred. By the third day, the stench of death had permeated throughout all of Candon. Lions were dying so fast that cremation fires were burning continuously in many parts of the city.  
  
Meanwhile, outside the walls, there was fighting.  
  
Additional Snowskin raiding parties had appeared on the frontier. Like Whetu had done previously, they were also foraging for food. Levakian huntresses and Partogan Toa would sortie out of the city gates each morning and battle them for what little remained outside the walls. Fields were picked clean, the last wild animals were slaughtered, and the rivers dredged for what little remained. By the fourth day, the Levakians had grown so desperate for food that when five dead Snowskins were dragged into the city, their Partogan neighbors said nothing as the Levakians briefly co-opted the Partogan warrior tradition of eating foes who had fallen in battle.  
  
At the end of the first week, the Tamihana family resorted to desperate action. Since the entire city was built out of shipwrecks, it didn’t take much effort to cannibalize a few houses and turn them into fishing boats. The tradeoff was immediate and effective. The Tamihanas brought in a bounty of fish, crabs, shellfish, and other assorted seafoods; just enough to sustain the whole city for about two days, but had made themselves homeless in the process.  
  
This was how, on the first day of the second week, Whetu found herself performing the Tangihanga funeral ritual alongside her sister as seven members of the Tamihana family were creamated outside the wall. Tohunga Nixie had performed the ceremonial hand-washing so many times that her skin was wrinkled and pale, forcing her sibling to take over for her. Whetu was the one who commanded the spirit of Midak Tamihana to leave its body and start the journey to Hawaiki, the Ancestral Homeland. Whetu’s friend, Taki Tamihana, burst into tears and had to be held upright by her remaining kin. Leaving her Nixie to finish the rituals, Whetu embraced Taki, reassuring her with kind words.  
  
As she turned to comfort the other surviving Tamihanas, Whetu saw something alarming out of the corner of her eye. A storm of ash was being kicked up as a group of people travelled over the grassland towards the city gates. All of the funeral attendees turned to watch as a hunting party of Levakians emerged from the pale cloud, racing at full speed towards Candon. At the head of the formation was Hysperia, one of the two lionesses who had rescued Whetu the previous week. Riding on Hysperia’s back was a Partogan man, bearing the tattoos, cloak, and weapons of a Toa warrior. When the hunting party entered the gates, the Toa began to shout:  
  
“They are near! They are near!”  
  
At the sound of the Toa’s voice, Taki gasped and started struggling to free herself from the grip of Whetu and her family!  
  
“Wait a second!” Taki gasped. “Let go of me! That’s my brother!”  
  
Taki slipped through Whetu’s grasp and started running for the city gates. Several Tamihanas followed her before Nixie said:  
  
“Shouldn’t you stay with your friend, Whetu? I can finish here.”  
  
Following the plume of ash, Whetu sprinted back into town.  
  
…  
  
The hunting party stopped by the firepit. The remaining Kings and Rangatira were already there to greet them, as were several dozen townsfolk. The Toa had been trying to speak to the elders about what he had seen out in the wilds, but paused midsentence as Taki grabbed him from behind in a tight hug.  
  
“Makani!” Taki gasped. “You didn’t say you were going out today!”  
  
“I wasn’t planning to, sister.” Toa Makani Tamihana replied with a warm smile. “I wanted to attend the Tangihanga with you, but my comrades brought news that could not be ignored. I had to see it for myself.”  
  
“What was it!?” Implored the Mihaka Rangatira. “What did you see?”  
  
“Over the second hill beyond the brown river, the Snowskins have set up a large encampment.” Makani explained. “All of the food they have foraged or stolen from us is being stored in a great building of wood and stone.”  
  
“We’ve seen wagons!” Hysperia panted. “The Snowskins are preparing to move the food somewhere else!”  
  
“How large is this stockpile?” The Ranginui Rangatira asked. “How much food to they have?”  
  
“A season’s worth!” Demeter pushed her way to the front so she could speak. “Enough to fill one of my people’s cargo ships! They have fruits and edible plants, salted meat and fish, and enough grain to make ten thousand loaves of bread! Sir, if we could somehow get that stockpile, we’d be able to survive until the next harvest!”  
  
King Jira brushed his face against Demeter’s in a show of feline affection.  
  
“Well done, daughter.” He said. “We shall assemble the Iwi Council as soon as the Tamihana family finds a new Rangatira, and then-”  
  
“WHAT!?” Whetu’s shout was lost amongst the outraged yells of several other people.  
  
“We don’t have time for this!” Toa Makani responded. “That food could be taken away at any moment!”  
  
“You are talking about attacking another people with Toa and huntresses!” Sarda Kealoha snapped. “This is an act of war, which cannot happen without the proper rituals! The Tapu must be maintained, lest Tūmatauenga refuse to give his blessings to your war party! Or would you rather have Whiro watch over you and your comrades instead!?”  
  
Whetu felt her blood run cold at the invocations of the God of War and the God of Evil. These were not the deities anyone wanted to anger, especially before a fight! Visibly shaken, Toa Makani, Demeter, and Hysperia all backed down.  
  
The Rangatira and Kings moved away and gathered together, preparing to send a messenger to summon the Levakian Empress. While this happened, Taki and Whetu confronted Toa Makani and the huntresses.  
  
“How long do we have until the Snowskins move all of that food!?” Whetu asked.  
  
“Most of those wagons looked like they were ready to go.” Hysperia replied. “They could start emptying that building at any moment.”  
  
Taki swore.  
  
“It could take days for all of the war rituals and ceremonies to happen.” she complained. “Not to mention the war party has to do a haka before they leave, that’s another day gone. The camp will be empty before anyone gets there!”  
  
“Agreed.” Demeter said. “This might be our last chance to get all of that food. We may all starve before another opportunity comes along!”  
  
The Levakians in particular looked very downtrodden at this pronouncement. Whetu, however, had made up her mind.  
  
“I… I’m gonna do something.”  
  
The words were out of her mouth before Whetu had finished committing herself to this insane plan. The idea was coming together quickly, and she had already thought of several ways this could all go wrong. But when all was said and done, Whetu decided she’d rather try something and be killed for it rather than just waiting for the end.  
  
Taki, Toa Makani, Demeter, Hysperia, and several of the other huntresses looked over at Whetu.  
  
“What do you mean by ‘do something?’” Toa Makani asked.  
  
Summoning up her courage, Whetu replied:  
  
“I mean, I’d rather die trying to get us all another meal than just sit around hoping for something to happen. So, if you want something to eat, or if you just wanna impress Māui, then meet me at the front gate tonight, an hour after midnight. Bring a weapon, a Lightstone, and the biggest bags you can carry.”  
  
…  
  
In any other situation, any other circumstance, Whetu would not be doing this. But… she was hungry. So hungry that her body was in actual pain. So hungry that she probably wasn’t thinking straight anymore. She heard the stories of people who had done what she was about to attempt. None of them ended very well, but Whetu could take solace in one thing: She felt better than she had this morning. It felt good to be taking some kind of action rather than just waiting around. She went to bed at the regular time, but she didn’t sleep.  
  
Tonight, the sky was overcast. With no stars to watch, Nixie had gone to bed early. This made sneaking out even harder because Whetu, her parents, and her two siblings all lived in a small house with only two rooms. Since it was a rather cold night, all three of the Kealoha children were sleeping together beneath a heavy fur blanket. Mamru, the middle child and only boy, was sandwiched between his sisters. Nixie, the eldest, gave off more warmth than Whetu, who was the youngest, which meant that Mamru was cuddled up with Nixie. Moving as silently as possible, Whetu had to hold her breath and move in total silence as she extracted herself from the blanket. Then, quiet as the grave, she crept into her parent’s room.  
  
Many years before she was born, Whetu’s father, Akamu, had been a Toa. She had grown up listening to stories about how a young Akamu had been part of a war party that defeated the Toa of a rival village in battle. Akamu then entered the enemy village in victory. He looted the place and took a young woman as a slave. Dalu never saw her home again, and by all accounts, she never would. Her village had been burned by Akamu’s war party, and any chance of rebuilding it had been lost in the recent disaster. These days, Dalu was married to her captor, and only seemed to be happy when her children were around.  
  
Akamu and Dalu Kealoha were sound asleep. Even through the darkness, Whetu could see her father’s ribcage rise and fall with each breath. She reminded herself that if this didn’t work, her entire family was going to starve to death. Keeping focused, Whetu fumbled around in the dark until she found what she was looking for: Her father’s _Taiaha_.  
  
This was a long-handled staff, built specifically for fighting. The staff itself was fashioned from the jawbone of a Takea Shark, and had a viciously sharp-looking sharktooth fused to one end. Just below the sharktooth was a collar made from feathers and hair, adding a distracting kind of beauty to the weapon. Whetu stole three of her father’s possessions before leaving the house: The staff, his cloak, and a Lightstone.  
  
Holding the small crystal above her head, Whetu used the Lightstone to find her way in the dark. The little gem cast out a warm and gentle light in all directions, but Whetu closed her fist around the Lightstone and opened a gap between her finger and thumb, directing a single shaft of light in the direction she planned to walk. This late at night, Candon was so dark and silent that it may as well have been dead. Nobody was about, which made it all the easier for Whetu to reach the front gate.  
  
It was already open. Taki, Toa Makani, Demeter, and Hysperia were here, plus five Levakians. Toa Makani was armed with a fighting staff like Whetu’s, while Taki was holding a Tao (a short spear) in both hands. Holding a finger to his lips, Toa Makani hissed:  
  
“We can’t leave yet. We’re waiting on a few more people.”  
  
“You told someone what we’re doing!?” Whetu replied, incredulous. “You trying to get us caught!?”  
  
“No!” Taki shook her head and pleaded with Whetu to be quiet. “My brother and I just know some trustworthy people, that’s all. They’re Toa from his Hapu.”  
  
Hapu are large parties of men (and on rare occasion, women) who engaged in warfare as a single unit. Of course, there hadn’t been any wars since the world had ended, so only small groups of members had made the crossing to Candon. There was no intact Hapu in the city.  
  
Four Partogans in full battle dress emerged from the gate. Whetu felt her heart flutter at the sight of these men and silently wished for her future husband to be a Toa. Big, muscular, and heavily tattooed, all of these men made a strong first impression. Taki’s brother made quick introductions:  
  
Toa Kai Ranginui was absolutely covered in tattoos, and his right arm disfigured by a large battle scar. Next to him, Toa Makura Patariki seemed to prefer fighting with a short club despite his large size. Toa Ihu Ririnui was the smallest of the group, yet he was still far bigger than Whetu. Toa Tangaroa Aranui brought up the rear, dragging someone by the arm.  
  
“I caught this interloper!” Toa Tangaroa said in a low voice. “He was staking out the Kealoha households!”  
  
Enoka Ihaka tried to break free of Toa Tangaroa’s grip, but it was no good. When he saw Whetu, he said:  
  
“Oh, Whetu! There you are! I was trying to find you!”  
  
“No, you were skulking around her house, trying to slip a note in the window!” Toa Makura chided him. “Makani, this kid might blow the whole thing open, should we just-”  
  
“No!” Toa Makani cut him off. “You know the Toa Code, old friend. There’s Tapu around children. We can’t hurt or kill them.”  
  
“This one’s just old enough to have children of his own!” Toa Makura protested. “There’s no way he’s still under Tapu!”  
  
“You wanna take that risk, fine by me.” Taki’s brother replied, “Just remember the Tohunga’s sister is here, so if you’re wrong, you’ll answer to the gods.”  
  
Enoka and Toa Makura both quickly looked at Whetu. She folded her arms and gave a sour look that caused both men to look uncomfortable with themselves. Reluctantly, the Toa let go of Enoka. Whetu had to think quickly about how to handle this development.  
  
“Alright, Enoka.” Whetu began, “You really could have blown our cover, and we can’t just leave you here to blow it as soon as we leave, so you know what? You’re in on it too, now. You come with us, and you fight with us, too. Understood?”  
  
Grumbling, Enoka agreed and took a club from one of the other Toa. Then Whetu addressed the group.  
  
“So, I’m guessing Taki’s brother filled you in on what we’re doing here. You need to know that we’re going to be way out of line and we might be breaking Tapu by doing this. The punishment for that is pretty serious.”  
  
“We _are_ breaking Tapu.” Toa Ihu interrupted. “Hapus don’t just go off to war without any of the rituals or ceremonies. If we come back as anything less than heroes, we’ll get executed; and you girls be enslaved.”  
  
Whetu swallowed hard, trying to ignore the lump of fear in the back of her throat.  
  
“Look at this this way,” She said. “We’re not a Hapu, just a foraging party… a really stupid foraging party that’s going to make some bad decisions.”  
  
“Bad decisions that will save lives.” Demeter finished. “Let’s go now, while the darkness is still our friend.”  
  
Using Lightstones to illuminate the way, Whetu and her heavily armed “foraging party” set out into the darkness, over the hills and across the river, through the cold night towards the Snowskin encampment.  
  
…  
  
Moving under the cover of darkness was nothing new to the Toa. Sure, Levakians always hunted in the daytime, but Partogans had long since developed their own methods and strategies for conducting warfare. Ambush and surprise attacks were the favorite strategies of the Toa, and fog, mist, or rain were considered to be the most welcome forms of divine intervention.  
  
Ash and smoke swirled about in a gentle wind, masking the approach of Whetu’s party. The Levakian huntresses vanished into the tall grass, keeping as low to the ground as possible. Toa Makura and his comrades fanned out, turning their heads slowly as they kept a vigilant lookout. Toa Ihu spotted their destination first.  
  
The Snowskin outpost was built from wood and rope. A simple wall, fortified with lethal stakes and spikes, ran around the perimeter while a single watchtower allowed two men to keep an eye out for incoming enemies. As the night dragged on and the air grew colder, Whetu and her allies snuck closer and closer. The cloud cover above blotted out the stars, making everything even darker than normal. A gust of wind blew up a cloud of ash, obscuring all vision for a few moments.  
  
Hidden behind the slope of a hill, beneath cold grass, Whetu steeled her nerves and stopped her teeth from chattering. Just a few moments more. Looking above, she saw the lights of the Snowskin’s campfire go out once more. Another ash cloud! Holding her breath, Whetu clutched her staff in one hand and drew her cloak around her as she set off into the darkness once more. She was now so close to the wall that she could hear two Snowskins talking to one another. Their conversation was casual, cordial, even.  
  
Whetu had held her breath for so long, she could feel her chest getting tight as she reached the wall and pressed her body into the shadows. All around the peripheries of her vision, she barely saw her friends slipping into position. Peering through a crack between the roughly-hewn wooden boards, Whetu got her first look inside the enemy camp:  
  
Inside the walls, there were two buildings and some thirty tents. Both of the structures appeared to have been hastily built. Some ten Snowskins were there, gathered around a campfire. The name really seemed to fit these strange people. None of these men had brown skin or white hair. Instead, their bodies varied between pale and yellowish-white colors. Their strange clothing covered their entire bodies too, whereas Whetu and her fellow Partogans were bare-chested, the better to display their tattoos. But there was one more detail about the ten Snowskin men gathered around the fire:  
  
 _None of them were armed.  
  
_ Swords and knives leaned against the wall of the nearby building, out of reach for all but one of the enemy. The only genuine threat was the warrior in the tower. Then, the silence was shattered by a shout! A voice so loud that it echoed off the clouds above and came back down to the ground!  
  
“KA MATE! KA MATE! KA ORA! KA ORA!”  
  
That was the only warning the enemy had.  
  
In an instant, 15 Partogans and Levakians descended on the camp in a vicious, bloody fury! Screaming until her throat hurt, Whetu dashed around a gap in the wall, ran straight towards the campfire, and swung her father’s staff at the head of a Snowskin! It made a sick cracking sound on impact and the man tumbled to the ground! Before his comrades could respond, five more cracks sounded in the night! Roaring loudly, Demeter and Hysperia pounced together, aiming for the man closest to the stockpile of swords!  
  
Up on the watchtower, the lone guard shouted in his strange language:  
  
“Kōgekidesu! Tasuke o yobimasu!”  
  
Toa Makani and his Hapu friends ran towards the lookout tower and grabbed one of its legs!  
  
“Bring it down!” Toa Ihu yelled, “Bring it down!”  
  
Unable to resist the strength of five fully grown men, the wooden tower leg snapped like a twig! The structure collapsed into a heap, sending splinters and debris flying everywhere! In the middle of it all, a melee erupted as the last surviving Snowskins attempted to resist the ambush! Fighting with nothing but their fists, the enemy was outmatched! Keeping them at a distance with her staff, Whetu danced around the Snowskins, keeping their eyes on her while two Levakians, Taki, and Toa Tangaroa moved around behind them! Clubs, spears, claws and teeth met the enemy’s backs and their screams of anguish pierced the sky!  
  
The fight was over less than two minutes after it started. When half of the Snowskins were slain, Toa Makani shouted:  
  
“THAT’S ENOUGH!”  
  
As one, all of the Partogans and Levakians stopped fighting and backed away. The surviving Snowskins, panicked, clutching their wounds, and mentally broken, took full advantage of the respite and began to flee. Screaming hysterically, the defeated warriors abandoned their outpost and scrambled into the darkness.  
  
Whetu’s whole body was shaking now as the full realization of what had just happened started washing over her. She stared down at the battered, bloody form of the Snowskin man she’d struck at the beginning of the fight. At some point during the melee, he had gotten back to his feet and tried to retaliate against Whetu, only to be speared in the back by Toa Makani. He was a young man, probably the same age as Taki’s older brother. There was a lot of blood by his head. Whetu was having some trouble comprehending why that was. Toa Makani spotted Whetu and put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
“I got him, Kealoha.” He said. “That’s my mataika.”  
  
Whetu had been so caught up in the moment that she’d completely forgotten about the codes and rules of war. The first person to die in a battle was the _mataika_ , and certain spiritual rites needed to be performed on their body, lest the gods be angered. Whetu stepped back as Toa Makani withdrew a ceremonial dagger from his cloak and set to work on the body of the fallen Snowskin. While he worked, Whetu took stock of the aftermath.  
  
Nobody on the Partogan/Levakian side had been killed. Six Snowskins were slain and six more had been allowed to escape. The warehouse full of food was broken into by Toa Tangaroa and Enoka. Inside, they found…  
  
“Praise Māui!” Enoka yelled. “Food!”  
  
Fruits. Grains. Vegetables. Salted meat and fish! It was piled up to the rafters! Stored in bags for easy transport and ready to be moved at a moment’s notice! If rationed properly, there was enough food here for everyone in Candon to survive for at least two months!  
  
Whetu raced to join her friends inside the food warehouse. Not even pausing to ask questions about why the building seemed to be only half-full, Whetu seized a salted Ruki fish and ate most of it in a matter of seconds! The Levakians were working together to devour a side of Kane-Ra bull, while Taki, Enoka, and all five Toa were filling their bags with as much food as they could carry.  
  
No one left the warehouse that night. Whetu and her friends slept on full bellies until morning.  
  
…  
  
As the sun rose over the raided campsite, Demeter and the Levakians went out into the grassland to try and sniff out the Snowskins who had fled. Whetu, Enoka, Taki, and the Toa were packing their bags with food for the return journey to Candon when Hysperia loped back into camp with news:  
  
“Hey, that wagon train is gone!”  
  
From the top of the nearest hill, Demeter corroborated her sister’s discovery. Visible in the fine layer of ash that covered the world, a stripe had been carved into the grassy terrain. Several wagons, laden down with food, had been taken away in the night by an escort force of at least two dozen Snowskins. As soon as word of the escape came down, Whetu ran back into the warehouse and realized what everybody had missed during the night.  
  
“Oh, no! _It’s half-empty!”_  
  
So many more bags of food could have fit into that building than were actually present. It was clear, now that the sun had risen, that the enemy had spirited away most of the food during the night, leaving Whetu and her little party with a fraction of a prize.  
  
Enoka was so furious that he picked up an enemy sword and threw it into the doorway of the other building.  
  
“I can’t believe it!” Toa Makani shouted. “We shouldn’t have waited! We should have attacked as soon as Demeter and Hysperia told us about this place!”  
  
While the Toa lamented the loss of so much food, the doorway to the second building, unable to stand the weight of a sword sticking out of it, fell off its hinges and hit the ground. Inside, Whetu saw an armory, filled with even more of the Snowskin’s weapons and armor. Leaving her friends to shout and argue about hindsight, Whetu stepped inside the building to take a look around.  
  
Spears and swords of all shapes and sizes lined the walls, ready for use. Suits of the strange Snowskin armor hung from brackets, shiny and new. At the far end of the building, though, was an oddity. There was some kind of shrine here. A podium or platform was decorated with symbols and icons that Whetu interpreted to be religious. A long, thin package was resting on the shrine. It was a very simple thing, with nothing remarkable about it except for its white color. Yet, for some reason, Whetu felt as though she was being drawn to it. She felt a powerful compulsion to satisfy her curiosity.  
  
Slowly, Whetu undid the wrapping and a piece of paper fell out of the package. She picked it up and stared at the handwritten note for several seconds before remembering that she couldn’t read the Snowskin’s language. To her, the strange shapes and symbols on the page were completely meaningless:  
  


巫女にお届けください.

  
Whetu put the note aside and continued to unwrap the package until she saw something shiny within.  
  
“Wait, a Lightstone?” Whetu said to herself.  
  
No, it wasn’t. As the paper fell away, Whetu found herself staring at the strangest thing she’d ever seen in her life.  
  
It was a sword.  
  
But not just any sword, the blade was made from a translucent, dark blue crystal wrapped around a green core that ran the length of the entire weapon. The handle and crossguard of the weapon were made from a kind of metal that Whetu had never seen before, and there was a fantastic green gemstone embedded within it. The crystal sword shimmered as though there was some kind of hidden magic within it.  
  
Someone’s voice brought Whetu back to reality!  
  
“Whetu! Where are you? We’re heading back to Candon!”  
  
Making an on-the-spot decision, Whetu returned both the sword and note to their wrapping, tucked the whole package into the belt of her skirt and ran outside to join her friends.


	3. A Blessing and a Command

Whetu’s party was so laden down with food, weapons, and other things taken from the Snowskin camp that the return journey to Candon took almost the entire day. Whetu found before mid-morning that she needed to wrap the crystal sword in a cloth to stop it blinding her whenever the blade caught the sunlight. Taki couldn’t stop talking to her brother about last night’s bout of combat. Toa Makani, for his part, was still in a warrior mindset. His head seemed to be on a swivel, and he watched the horizon for enemies until the walls of Candon came into view.  
  
As it turns out, the absence of Whetu and her companions was noticed at sunrise. Alarms were raised and search parties sent out of the city. Levakian huntresses had only just picked up Whetu’s scent amidst the ashes when her party crested the hilltop and began approaching the city. A whole pride of lions loped through the tall grey and brown grass to meet them. King Jira was at the front of the group. Demeter ran out to meet her father, eager to share the news of the previous night’s adventure.  
  
But to the surprise of Whetu, (and several others) King Jira did not greet his daughter in the usual fashion. Instead of touching noses or brushing faces together, Jira reared up on his hind legs with a mighty growl and brought one paw, claws extended, slashing down! He struck Demeter squarely across the face and sent her tumbling to the ground! Both lions began to growl and roar and snarl at one another while their companions watched!  
  
“An unsanctioned hunt!? What were you thinking!?” Jira roared.  
  
“I was thinking about feeding my pride!” Demeter snapped back; her face bloody! “I don’t want to see my brothers and sisters die!”  
  
Jira and Demeter both flattened their ears and bared their teeth. The two lions took swipes at one another! Hysperia and her fellow huntresses fell in line behind Demeter, arching their backs and giving all the warning signs of imminent attack. Jira’s pride fell in line behind him, setting the stage for an all-out brawl. The Lions were now speaking in the Levakian language, and Whetu had to strain her ears and put her mind into overdrive just to understand the now-heated confrontation.  
  
“You could have died!” Jira shouted. “You could have led the Snowskins back here! You may have been captured or wounded!”  
  
“You think I hunt alone!?” Demeter’s roar was drowned out by the roars of six Lionesses who supported her. “Have you even seen what we’ve done!? What we’ve brought back!?”  
  
At her sister’s words, Hysperia slunk in between her father and sister, showing off the large bags of food hanging from her shoulders. One by one, all of the lionesses on Jira’s side realized that Demeter and her friends were heavily burdened with more food than could be reasonably carried. Jira broke eye contact with Demeter and quickly surveilled the group’s bounty. His anger seemed to ebb away as he realized just how much food had been brought back.  
  
The questions tumbled out of Jira’s mouth:  
  
“Where did you get all of this? When did this happen? What happened to the Snowskins? Why is that Toa covered in blood? What is that thing the Tohunga’s sister is holding?”  
  
Promising to answer each question in turn, Demeter and Toa Makani both suggested that these answers be delivered to the entire Iwi Council instead of just King Jira. Reluctantly, he relented, and the Levakian hunting party escorted Whetu’s impromptu Hapu into Candon.  
  
…  
  
The rest of the day passed in a frenzied hurry. As soon as she returned home, Whetu found two radically different welcomes waiting for her.  
  
On the one hand, people flooded the streets at the news of a huge bounty of food, and hundreds of complete strangers showered Whetu with praise and gratitude for her part in bringing it to them. Children sang her name as she passed fruits around, while mothers and fathers promised to pay their proper respects and tributes to Whetu’s sister, the Tohunga.  
  
Then, there was the response waiting at home. Whetu knew this was coming and had been steeling herself for it the entire time. Traditionally, Partogan children were allowed to lead indulgent and carefree lives; and were allowed to go most places and do most things. But even Partogan society has its limits. Stealing the weapons and clothing of her own father and sneaking out for an unapproved act of war was a serious crime, regardless of how much happiness it brought to Candon. Thieving of a weapon was not particularly bad, but _stealing a cloak…_  
  
In Partogan culture, cloaks were symbols of status, and only worn by people for whom they had been made. Whetu had no right whatsoever to touch her father’s cloak, let alone use it for warmth while stalking Snowskins at night.  
  
Whetu knew she was facing one of three consequences:  
  
First, Akamu might simply take his weapon back and kill Whetu on the spot. This outcome wasn’t likely, but it was still possible. As much was Whetu hated to admit this, she felt she had done more than enough to warrant such a reaction.  
  
Second, Akamu could have Whetu’s sister, Tohunga Nixie, place a highly restrictive Tapu on Whetu. Whetu had seen this happen to other rulebreakers. There was a woman from the Ranginui family who had disrespected a Tohunga, and as a result, had a Tapu placed on her own body. The result was that she wasn’t allowed to wear any clothes until the Tapu was lifted. Three days and nights of total exposure was all it took to correct the offender’s tone.  
  
The third option was the one Whetu was most worried about. She feared that Akamu would be so outraged with her that he might want to get rid of her, but not angry enough to kill her outright. Whetu knew there were plenty of people in Candon who needed slaves for a wide variety of possible uses. This, Whetu thought, was the most likely outcome.  
  
So, when she walked around the perimeter of the Mihaka houses and came upon the Kealoha buildings, Whetu fully expected to see some kind of doom waiting for her.  
  
Instead, she saw her mother, father, brother, and sister gathered in front of their home. The instant they saw her, the Kealohas rushed forward to meet Whetu with much hugging and crying and laughing! Dalu squeezed her daughter so tightly that Whetu made a squeaking noise and struggled to breathe! Mamru ruffled Whetu’s hair and said that he’d always known his sister would get into trouble before he did. Tohunga Nixie started reciting a Noa (a kind of blessing) as soon as her sister came into sight and continued doing so all the way through the reunion.  
  
Finally, Akamu himself reached out. He took the Taiaha from Whetu and examined it while she looked sheepishly at the ground.  
  
“There’s blood on this.” Akamu said. “You were in a fight, and you struck someone. Were you hurt in return?”  
  
“No, father.” Whetu answered. To her surprise, Akamu smiled.  
  
“Good. That means our family has lost nothing.”  
  
Realizing that she was still wearing his cloak, Whetu quickly moved to return it. Akamu smiled at his daughter and then quickly added:  
  
“If you steal this again, daughter, I’ll give you to the Tamihana family.”  
  
It was the calm tone of Akamu’s voice that made his warning so frightful. Whetu’s mother, Dalu, broke the tense silence that followed:  
  
“Whetu, my littlest one. You’ve been summoned to speak before the Iwi Council tonight. Please get some sleep while I weave a new skirt for you. You must represent the Kealoha family as best you can when you go to explain yourself.”  
  
It wasn’t until Whetu had gone inside the house and collapsed into her blanket that she realized exactly how tired and worn out she was. Before she was even aware of how warm she felt with a stomach full of salted fish and seaweed, Whetu passed out.  
  
…  
  
In what felt like no time at all, it was time to go. Whetu woke up to see that it was now dark outside, and that there were two voices just above her.  
  
“Wake up, little sister.” Said Tohunga Nixie. “It’s time to go see the Iwi.”  
  
“We’ve come to take you to the firepit.” Added the slow voice of Mira Mihaka. “Follow along, alright?”  
  
Whetu shivered as she followed her sister and friend out into the dark. The sun had gone down long ago, and it felt to be somewhere before midnight. Even from here, she could see the flickering orange light of the firepit. At her side, Mira waited until Tohunga Nixie was leading them both by a good distance before saying:  
  
“That was very brave, you know. None of our other friends would have risked themselves to bring home so much food for everyone. I am not sure if I could have done that myself.”  
  
“Thanks, I think.” Whetu replied. “But what good is being brave if it gets me punished by the council?”  
  
“Regardless of the outcome, you were still brave.” Mira said. “I wish to be more like you. I must practice more.”  
  
After a few moments, the group of three arrived at the firepit. Here, the Iwi Council was waiting. It was the closest possible thing to a government left in this post-apocalyptic world. It was made up of thirteen people: six Rangatira, six Levakian Kings, and one other person Whetu had heard plenty about before, but had never met.  
  
The Empress of Levakia was a lioness who appeared to be in very poor health. Like her fellow lions, she had been living on the edge of starvation, something felines do not do very well. The Empress was lying on her side near the fire, which had been built up just a moment ago and was now giving off a warm, relaxing heat. Stretched out on the ground, the Empress had screwed up her face in a way that suggested she was trying to hide the pain caused by her own hunger. King Jira greeted the Empress with an offering of salted meat, which she devoured just as Whetu, Tohunga Nixie, and Mira reached the meeting place.  
  
Rawiri Mihaka (the Rangatira of Mira’s family) gave Whetu a stern look and addressed his words to the Empress:  
  
“Your Highness, this is the girl who is said to have inspired this brazen raid.”  
  
The Empress sat down on her haunches, keeping her back to the fire, and curled her tail around her massive paws.  
  
“Bring her to me.” The old lioness commanded.  
  
Tohunga Nixie and Sarda Kealoha escorted the anxious teenager towards the Empress. Once she got in front of her, Whetu prostrated herself, kneeling on the ground before placing her hands and face directly on the ground. From down here, Whetu could appreciate the sheer size of the Empress’ claws, which made her feel even more nervous than she already did. The Empress leaned down and began to sniff Whetu, hot hair from her snout tickling the back of Whetu’s neck. When the Empress spoke, Whetu made sure to keep her face in the dirt. Unless the Empress addressed her directly, there was no reason to look up.  
  
“Girl, you say?” The Empress mused. “She is clearly old enough to bear young, and to fight battles on her own. She also has a curious smell about her… hmm…”  
  
The Empress took great interest in Whetu’s silver hair, sniffing and smelling intensely.  
  
“I have only found this scent on other lions before tonight. How curious.” The Empress continued. “Sit up, Kealoha, and answer my questions now.”  
  
Whetu pulled herself up and remained on her knees, looking up. The Empress’s grey-brown fur seemed to glow in the light of the bonfire behind her, and her eyes, a dull and faded shade of purple, seemed to gleam with new energy.  
  
“I know you were ambushed by these Snowskins before, and that they stole forage from you. Did they harm you at all?”  
  
“No ma’am.” Whetu kept her answers short and truthful. In her mind, provoking or angering this massive lion seemed a very bad idea.  
  
“Were you angry at the Snowskins? Did you feel some compulsion for revenge perhaps?”  
  
“No, no I didn’t.”  
  
“Why, then? Why did you and your friends chose not to wait for this council to assemble a true war party?”  
  
“I… I thought…”  
  
Whetu found it difficult to spit out the answer. She knew it would upset all of the Rangatira, but decided that she preferred their wrath to the Empress’s claws.  
  
“I thought they would take too long.” Whetu admitted. “I was worried the food would be gone by the time a real war party got there.”  
  
Whetu’s words brought an uproar. Just as she thought, all six of the Rangatira, including the new Tamihana leader, were suddenly out for her blood! They yelled and pointed staffs at her, crying out vile slurs and unpleasant curses!  
  
“Disrespectful child!” cried the Ranginui Rangatira.  
  
“Only the Kealoha clan could raise such a creature!” the Ririnui Rangatira added.  
  
“Her words are hardly surprising.” Snarked the new Tamihana leader. “Her mother is a slave from the Broken Isles, isn’t she? This girl has inherited the failings of her mother’s tribe! Bring forth the Dalu woman! She must be whipped and burned!”  
  
Over the assenting voices of the other Rangatira, Sarda Kealoha verbally distanced himself from his own flesh and blood:  
  
“No descendent of mine would abandon our traditions and customs because they ‘take too long!’ This is an outrage!”  
  
King Jira roared for quiet, and the chatter died down. The Empress spoke directly to Whetu, who hung her head and waited for her sentence.  
  
“Kealoha cub, you have broken many of your people’s Tapus. Tapus that the predecessors of my predecessors promised to respect when we took your people into our nation. You stole the weapons and cloak of a Toa and used them as your own. You roped others into a haphazard plan to wage war and plunder without the knowledge or consent of your elders. You disregarded the traditions, rites, and ceremonies that must accompany all who go to war. These are serious crimes that carry heavy punishments.”  
  
The cheering and words of agreement from the Rangatira made Whetu feel sick. As someone called out for Whetu to be punished, the Empress raised her voice:  
  
“But… I will not ignore the situation, the circumstances.”  
  
The Rangatira fell silent. Whetu dared to look up. The Empress was smiling down on her, and the old lioness made a deep rumbling noise, saying:  
  
“You and your friends saved our lives, young Kealoha.” The Empress said. “There is no doubt that if you had taken no action, I would be burning in the fire behind us, instead of enjoying its warmth with you. Many could have died today, but they did not. That’s because of you, Whetu Kealoha; and I will not punish a hero, nor those who aided and abetted her.”  
  
Before the gathered family leaders could voice their anger and disappointment, the Empress raised her voice and pressed on:  
  
“This girl recognized the time for action when it presented itself and acted accordingly. If the story Toa Makani told us is true, the enemy has done the same.”  
  
“Enemy?” Repeated the Mihaka Rangatira. “Are you seriously considering a war against the Snowskins?”  
  
“As seriously as I did before the sky turned black and the sun faded away!” The Empress roared! “As seriously as when I commanded an army of five thousand lions to gather in Tauranga! If the world had not ended, I would have made such a war upon the Snowskins and their devil king that all would have lived in fear of the day when the drums of war were beaten a second time!”  
  
The Empress seemed to run out of energy. She sat down again, panting.  
  
“But instead, we sit here, in the wreckage of our ships, waiting for a slow death of starvation; while the devil-king and his ilk sit upon a stockpile of food, gathered from these very lands, waiting for that wagon train that slipped away from our little hero in the night.”  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, Whetu spotted Toa Makani break from the Tamihana family and approach the bonfire.  
  
“Your Highness, great Kings, and Rangatira!” Toa Makani pleaded. “We may not be too late! Permit a Hapu to assemble and give chase! If we have any hope of surviving the coming winter, we need to follow Whetu’s example and take action now!”  
  
Again, uproar. Now the Rangatira had turned on one another, unable to agree on whether or not to support Toa Makani’s proposal. Over the noise, Whetu couldn’t help but notice that all six Levakian Kings were speaking out in _support_ of Toa Makani’s idea, and even King Jira seemed to be defending Whetu herself! Finally, the Empress called for quiet.  
  
“I will make a decision, and as Empress of Levakia, I expect all who live under the orange flag of my nation to abide by it.”  
  
She was looking at the Partogan Rangatira.  
  
“I shall contact what few military leaders are left.” The Empress declared. “The Levakian Army, whatever remains of it, shall assemble outside of Candon two weeks from tonight. Any holes in the formation will be filled by Partogan Hapus. The whole group will then depart for Snowskin territory, the expedition’s goal will be to learn where the Snowskins are stockpiling their food, raid it, and bring back enough to keep this city alive until the next harvest.”  
  
The Ranginui leader shook his head.  
  
“It is all well and good, your Highness. But we will need more than two weeks to prepare any number of Hapus.”  
  
“I’m afraid he’s right.” Toa Makani admitted. “Hapus are loyal to Rangatira. That means we’ll have to coordinate our movements and actions between multiple leaders.”  
  
“Multiple leaders, you say?” The Empress repeated. “As you and Whetu have said, we don’t have time for a problem like that. Allow me to… _truncate_ … this issue.”  
  
The Empress nudged Whetu with her paw and told her to stand up.  
  
“Ever since you came into this circle, I have smelled something strange about you.” The Empress said. “Now, after growing familiar with your scent, I have recognized it. It is the smell of magic. I sense the same energies that allow my people to perform great supernatural feats.”  
  
Whetu began to shake, her heart pounding out of her chest. Magic!? Supernatural feats!? No way. Only Levakians could do that.  
  
“No.” Whetu breathed. “Must be a mistake. You must be smelling my sister, or Mira, or some other Levakian.”  
  
The Empress lowered her face to be on the same level as Whetu.  
  
“Neither the Mihaka girl nor Tohunga Nixie led a band of warriors into the night and saved all of our lives, while risking the gravest punishments on their return.” The Empress said. “That takes far more than ordinary bravery. I sense magic in you, Kealoha, a power you haven’t found yet. This will be either the salvation of your friends and family, or your own downfall. You’ve proven you have potential, and now it’s time to put it to the test.”  
  
A tense silence filled the air around Whetu and the Empress, so thick that one could cut it with a knife. Looking into Whetu’s eyes, the Empress asked:  
  
“If I give you the rank and title of a leader, will you use it to bring back a bounty of food for your people and mine, as you’ve done once before?”  
  
Whetu’s mind had gone blank. She couldn’t think of anything to say other than: “Yes, I will.”  
  
“Good.”  
  
The Empress put one paw on Whetu’s shoulder. It was warm and fuzzy, yet the large claws made Whetu’s heart skip a beat.  
  
“Swear to me your homage and loyalty.” The Empress said. “Remain loyal and devoted to the people of Candon as long as you live, and swear that you will tolerate no treachery or treason, and commit none in return. Swear this oath, Whetu.”  
  
“I… I swear… I swear on Mahuika’s fire!” Whetu replied, nervously invoking the first god whose name came into her mind.  
  
The Empress addressed the gathered Kings, Toa, Rangatira, and other witnesses:  
  
“Let it be known to you all that this woman is now my sworn Vassal, a leader who will speak and act in my stead! Her words are my words! You will hear them and obey! She is Whetu Kealoha, _Queen of the Partogans!”_  
  
All six Rangatira were so shocked, so stunned, that they dropped their staffs on the ground. Then Whetu flinched as yet another tirade of abuse began!  
  
“You’ve got to be joking.” The Mihaka Rangatira gasped. “You must be.”  
  
“This little girl couldn’t command an infant, let alone the Rangatira!” Sarda Kealoha chimed in. “Your Highness cannot seriously expect us to obey a disgraceful child as she!”  
  
“Disgraceful and dishonorable!” Cried the Ranginui elder. “She dared to invoke the Goddess of Fire! Mahuika burns harlots like you, Kealoha!”  
  
Genuinely afraid, Whetu took a step back, away from the Rangatira. The Empress and her lions all stood up and began to roar angrily at the Partogans!  
  
“The time has come for action, and in your hesitation, I’ve sought out someone who will act!” the Empress roared loudly. “Do not forget that it was my people who took you in generations ago. We, who taught you speech and shared our knowledge! You live in my world, Partogans, and you will respect and obey the will of your Empress! You failed to lead, so I have chosen a new leader!”  
  
The Rangatira and Levakian kings were now in a very belligerent argument. As voices grew louder and the rhetoric more vicious, Whetu, feeling ever so alone, took another step back. Her ankles and calves grew warm as the bonfire was now right behind Whetu. The situation in front of her was so alarming that Whetu didn’t give much thought to the possibility of her skirt catching fire. But then, a shout:  
  
“LOOK AT HER!”  
  
Mira Mihaka was pointing directly at Whetu, her eyes full of wonder. Whetu looked around in fear, trying to see what had alarmed her friend, then she saw something strange.  
  
Up until this point, the area around the firepit had been lit by an orange glow. The bonfire itself was nearly twice as tall as Whetu, and it burned as brightly as the setting sun, casting a similar light. But now, all of the surroundings were lit as though it were daytime! The fire behind Whetu had grown even larger and brighter, forcing most Partogans and Levakians to shut their eyes! Wincing, Whetu looked around and saw that the orange and yellow flames were now dancing and sparkling in shades of blue and purple!  
  
Violet flames swirled around a column of air in the center of the fire, coalescing into a shape! Then, a great wind began to circle around the firepit! Levakians yelped and jumped away, their tails alight! Whetu was frozen in place by fear! She had no idea what was happening and was just gathering up her courage to run away when she heard the voice of her older sister:  
  
“Everyone, stay yourselves! We are in the presence of a divine visitor!”  
  
Tohunga Nixie threw out her hands to block the exit of Rangatira Sarda. The old man, quailing with fright, looked back towards the now clearly supernatural inferno! Whetu, rooted to the spot, no longer noticed the intense heat. There was something moving in the heart of the blue flames, and she desperately wanted to see it! Whetu’s fear was finally overcome, and she narrowed her eyes, the better to see the blue shape wrapped in bright yellow fire! A figure, shaped like a Partogan, stood up within the fire and dressed itself in a cloak of flames!  
  
The womanly figure, with a body of orange and yellow fire that roiled and roared, had eyes and hair of matching blue flames. She looked to the sky and took a deep breath that caused the fire around her to expand and breach the limits of the firepit!  
  
Partogans and Levakians retreated once more! Tohunga Nixie and a select few others fell to their knees and prostrated themselves, for they, just like Whetu, knew exactly what had just emerged from the great inferno!  
  
Mahuika, the Goddess of Fire, cast her eyes down on Whetu. The girl suddenly felt very small and tried to look down, but a warm hand gently lifted her chin. Whetu stared directly into Mahuika’s eyes, and she heard the voice of the Goddess over the noise of the inferno, as plainly as though Mahuika had whispered into Whetu’s ear on a calm night:  
  
“Follow the light.”  
  
And then, Mahuika leaned in close and gave Whetu a gentle kiss on her right cheek. Whetu closed her eyes and felt her face grow painfully hot; then, it was over. The deity of flame vanished in a gust of wind; the bonfire reduced to cool embers in only a moment. It took nearly a whole minute for Whetu to process what had just happened. In that time, she very slowly turned around to see everyone gazing at her with more emotions than she could possibly count. After a moment, Tohunga Nixie dared to speak:  
  
“You… you who doubted my sister’s destiny, do you see how wrong you were now!?” The Tohunga rose to her feet and gestured to Whetu in a reverent way. “She was chosen and named our Queen by the Empress, and then embraced by Mahuika herself! My sister’s destiny is sealed! She is the Queen! Whetu is _my_ Queen, and I shall serve and obey her if you will not!”  
  
And then, to prove her point, Nixie knelt down in front of Whetu and said:  
  
“Forgive the Rangatira for their doubts, they didn’t know they were resisting the will of the gods.”  
  
As she spoke, all six of the Levakian Kings drew level with Whetu and sat down around her.  
  
“You are one of us now, and that will make us your friends and brothers.” King Jira told Whetu. “Our friendship and allegiance as long as we draw breath, if you will have it.”  
  
This show of support from the lions was the final straw for the Rangatira. One by one, they returned to the now-docile firepit and pledged themselves to their new Queen. Sarda Kealoha went first, with many apologies, and the last holdout was Tanma Ranginui. Finally, as things began to die down and the talk turned to what was going to happen next, Whetu caught sight of something.  
  
Over the city walls, in the far distance, there was a solitary light. A point of bright yellow on the western horizon winked and twinkled like a star, yet it clearly was not one of the heavenly lights above.  
  
Now Whetu knew where she needed to go. The question was, who was coming with her, and what would they bring?


	4. The Queen of the Partogans

Chapter 4: The Queen of the Partogans  


  
The next few days brought great changes to Whetu’s life, and she was nearly overwhelmed by them.  
  
Ever since her family landed here with the first settlers of Candon, Whetu had spent nearly every day of her life in the wilds, foraging for food with her friends. Naturally, she tried to resume this role the very next day after her meeting with the Empress and the Iwi Council. But there was now no way to return to the life she’d once had. Whetu, Mira, and Taki could not forage alone as they once did. Women and children joined her by the dozens, picking the landscape clean before Whetu could fill her bags, insisting that their new ruler should not do the work of her subjects. Meanwhile, a rapidly assembled group of Toa acted as Whetu’s personal guard. Strangers who wanted to speak to Whetu (and there were many) had to pass though this defensive line first.  
  
Men, women, lions, lionesses, cubs and children sought Whetu’s company, asking her to overrule the Rangatira, who had made all sorts of decisions about how the city of Candon was to be run. There were territorial disputes between neighbors and conflicting claims over food rations, as well as personal and spiritual squabbles that caused arguments aplenty. Whetu quickly made a habit of seeking out her closest friends for advice whenever this happened. King Jira lightened Whetu’s workload considerably by making sure people came to him for help first before going to their new Queen.  
  
On top of all this, Whetu’s change in status had elevated her family to the top of Candon’s hierarchy. The Kealoha clan was enjoying increased prestige, and had even started to receive tribute payments from smaller, weaker clans such as the recently hobbled Tamihana family. Her father, Akamu, began forming his own personal Hapu, drawing from both young men and experienced Toa to fill his ranks. As for Whetu’s mother, it was very hard for anyone to tell that Dalu was a slave nowadays, because she was constantly dressed in the most beautiful bird-feather outfits and giving advice to other young parents. Mamru was the most selfish of the family, abusing his new connection to a person of great power for his own benefit. He got bigger shares of the rations at mealtimes, got people to do his work for him, and would often spend the night at the homes of young women, usually gaining permission to meet with such lovers by trading favors with their families, favors that nearly always involved a future meeting with Whetu herself.  
  
Tohunga Nixie was profoundly affected by her sister’s elevation. However, it wasn’t the new title of Queen that caused distress for the young Tohunga, it was the appearance of Mahuika! The sudden intervention of the Goddess of Fire had many implications, and Nixie was now spending long nights away from home, observing the stars. Whetu knew exactly why her older sister was doing this. According to all of the myths and legends, Mahuika was a kind and good-hearted goddess, but she also had an incredible temper and was prone to highly destructive violence. The fact that Mahuika had seemingly made herself Whetu’s patron was surely an omen of future events. Tohunga Nixie could be seen in the early mornings near the firepit, drawing maps of the night sky in the dirt, charting the movements of stars and constellations, trying to solve their puzzle.  
  
Speaking of which, Whetu was also having long nights. Every evening, without fail, the flickering yellow light would appear on the western horizon and remain there all night, just beyond the place where the grassland met the muddy flatlands. Whetu would climb the city walls and stare at it for hours on end. One night, about a week after becoming Queen, Whetu had gone up the wall like always to view the western light. Sitting down on what had once been the outer hull of a Levakian schooner, Whetu had barely settled down when she realized she wasn’t alone.  
  
Slow, soft footsteps were barely audible on the battered wooden structure. A barefoot Partogan was coming her way at a very slow speed. Turning her head around, Whetu called out into the gathering darkness:  
  
“Hello? Who’s there?”  
  
A pause. The footsteps stopped, then a very slow voice replied.  
  
“I am Mira. Are you Whiro?”  
  
Whetu could feel herself deflating. With a calming sigh, she said:  
  
“No, you Brakas, I’m not Whiro. It’s just me. What are you doing out this late at night, anyway?”  
  
“I am practicing.”  
  
Mira’s response was short and direct as always, leaving Whetu a little frustrated at having to press for more information.  
  
“Lemme guess, you’re still doing that thing my sister was talking about?”  
  
“Tohunga Nixie said that if I practice, I will become skilled.” Mira said through the darkness.  
  
Whetu couldn’t actually see Mira because it was night, and that didn’t bother her. Whatever Mira was learning to do couldn’t be more interesting than the mysterious light in the distance. Whetu turned back to look at it and asked:  
  
“Hey, you’ve seen that light out there, haven’t you, Mira? What do you think it is?”  
  
“It is where you are not, and where you must be.” Mira answered. “It appeared after the Fire Goddess embraced you, therefore, it must be a signal from Mahuika herself.”  
  
Whetu stood up and tried to get a better view of the distant light. It seemed so dreadfully far away. She got the feeling that just reaching it would be a painful and arduous journey, let alone the pursuit of the Snowskins.  
  
“I don’t think any of our foragers have gotten that far before.” Whetu commented. “What do you think the far side of the flatland is like?”  
  
“The air is wet where we are.” Mira seemed to be talking to both herself and Whetu. “Yet it is dry where we are not. I must practice more.”  
  
Resigned to getting nothing but cryptic answers out of Mira, Whetu decided to call it a night early. Before she left, she turned to face the direction Mira’s voice had been coming from this whole time and said:  
  
“Hey, Mira. When I go to get the food back from the Snowskins, will you come with me?”  
  
“Of course.” Mira replied. “Why would I not?”  
  
…  
  
Roughly a week had passed since the Empress had made Whetu Queen, and now things began to move along in a hurry. Levakian messengers were dispatched from Candon six days prior, carrying word to all of the outlying villages and settlements that there was going to be a war. Now, these messengers began to return, travelling only a few hours ahead of great war parties.  
  
The first Hapu arrived at Candon in the early morning hours. It consisted of roughly one-hundred-thirty people. Eighty of these people were Toa warriors, while the remainder were women and children. Traditionally, this cadre of wives, offspring, and slaves would be responsible for all of the Hapu’s logistics. Food and clothing would be produced by these noncombatants, allowing the Hapu to act away from a village or town for a long time.  
  
The Partogan fighters were followed by a Levakian hunting party. Unlike Partogans, the Levakians had a completely different approach to warfare. Females were responsible for all fighting and combat, while males often stayed behind to defend the Pride. Therefore, nearly all Levakians who showed up at Candon for the war were lionesses.  
  
Whetu, King Jira, and her father made a camp a short distance away from Candon. Here, the new army began to assemble. Whetu knew the old traditions and Tapus demanded that all Hapu leaders needed to be Rangatira, so she summoned them to her one by one and promised their families generous shares of the spoils in return for their obedience. It seemed to work. At the very least, most challenges to Whetu’s leadership fell silent. All challenges except for one…  
  
Two days after the army had started to gather, Whetu brought her friends to a large communal building that had been erected at the center of camp. There was something serious she needed to discuss.  
  
Mira, Taki, Toa Makani, and Demeter all showed up at the same time. Demeter and Toa Makani had both joined units in the army. Mira was coming along as a noncombatant, and Taki was the only one of Whetu’s friends who had not yet committed to joining the upcoming journey; yet when she arrived, she was using a wooden spear as a walking stick, as though she were expecting a fight. When they arrived, they found Whetu alone, looking nervous and upset.  
  
“Somehow, seeing all these people here makes it harder to believe.” Taki admitted. “I have to remind myself you did all of this, Whetu! I’m so impressed!”  
  
“Me? No.” Whetu’s voice shook. “Come on, none of this is me, and you know it.”  
  
Whetu’s composure seemed to be failing. The stress of the past week was getting to her.  
  
“Look, I’ll be honest. I’m really in over my head here. I don’t know anything about exploring the frontier or fighting a war, or leading other leaders. I can’t do this alone and I need help.”  
  
Demeter brushed her face and whiskers against Whetu.  
  
“We’ll do what we can, friend.” The lioness replied. “Tell us how we can help.”  
  
“Well, I’m putting together my own personal company.” Whetu said. “It’s not a real Hapu, just anyone who can actually help me do all of this Queen stuff without making myself look like a total Brakas.”  
  
“I thought you were doing just fine.” Taki admitted. “You’ve been pulling this army together this whole time, haven’t you?”  
  
“Rangatira and Kings are doing that.” Whetu admitted. “Especially King Jira and my dad. They just report to me; and I’m really holding this together by the string of my skirt, and I really could use the help. Please? Will you?”  
  
Without much hesitation, Taki stepped forward and grasped Whetu’s hand.  
  
“You know, you saved Mira and I when those Snowskins had us cornered that first day, Whetu. I owe you one, and I’ll do my best to return the favor. I’ll go with you all the way.”  
  
One by one, all of Whetu’s friends put their hands in and agreed to join her company. Predictably, Mira was the last to join, owing more to her natural slowness than mental hesitation.  
  
“You risked your life to save us. I would not call myself your friend if I was not willing to do the same.”  
  
Then, Toa Makani said:  
  
“Does it have to be just us, Kealoha? I know some friends who could be a big help. You know, those Toa we raided the camp with.”  
  
“Yes!” Whetu said. “In fact, I think all of you should try and find some people to add to the group. The more the better!”  
  
…  
  
The company split up as everybody went one way or another, looking for comrades to add to Whetu’s company. Whetu herself ran back into Candon. She knew exactly who she was going to ask. During the daytime, her older sister often stayed at home, weaving new clothes or meditating on the future. Sure enough, Tohunga Nixie was at home, but when Whetu burst through the door, she found that her sister was not alone.  
  
Enoka Ihaka was there. Whetu felt an overpowering urge to retch as she saw her ex-boyfriend sitting across the room from her sister, but held it in when she realized that her sister was quite busy.  
  
Tohunga Nixie was performing some kind of religious ceremony. She was washing a wooden fighting staff with warm water while reciting a Karakia. Whetu knew right away that Nixie was putting a blessing on Enoka’s weapon.  
  
“Put your faith in this staff, and trust it with your life. It will not easily fail you.” Nixie said as she returned Enoka’s weapon to him.  
  
They both noticed Whetu as Enoka reached out for his staff. Whetu pointed at Enoka, then at Tohunga Nixie, her mouth agape.  
  
“What good timing.” Nixie clapped her hands. “Enoka here said he was going to speak with you when he was done here.”  
  
“Uh… yeah.” Whetu stammered. “I actually wanted to talk to you, big sis. But if you need me to wait…”  
  
“You’re the Queen.” Nixie interrupted. “Anything you want to say must go first.”  
  
Enoka bowed his head and gestured towards Nixie in agreement, then he stepped out the front door into the dirt road. Whetu turned back to her sister.  
  
“Tohunga, I… uh… Sister… I’m putting together a company. Close friends and allies who can help me run the new army while we’re away. I would love for you to come with us and help.”  
  
Nixie tied up her hair and gave her sister a warm grin.  
  
“I was starting to fear you wouldn’t ask. You can’t go to war without a Tohunga anyway. I’ll speak to our Rangatira about getting the supplies I need.”  
  
Nixie started to gather up the tools of her sacred work when she paused.  
  
“Oh, by the way. The Ihaka boy is looking for a place in your ranks.”  
  
“Yeah, I figured that out on my own.” Whetu’s voice was cold. “The Rangatira can deal with him.”  
  
“Certainly,” Nixie said. “But you should know first: Ihaka came to me and told a story about how terrible he feels. He knows he wronged you and is hoping to do right by serving you now.”  
  
“I’m not going to fall in love with him again just because-”  
  
“He’s not asking you to do that.” Nixie raised her voice a little and cut off her sister. “He simply wishes to redeem himself in your eyes. Nothing more. Give him another chance, Whetu.”  
  
Enoka was still standing in the road when Whetu left her house. He looked down sheepishly as she approached and said:  
  
“Please, I wish to be of service. Whatever adventure you’re going on must be important if the Fire Goddess chose you for it, so I’m not asking for anything in return. Just let me help you, please.”  
  
Whetu put her hands on her hips and stared hard at Enoka.  
  
“You know you’ve lost any chance of ever marrying me, right?” she asked.  
  
“Yes, I do.”  
  
“And that nothing you do will get me to feel the way I did before, right?”  
  
“I know.”  
  
“You still wanna come with me, Enoka? There’s nothing in it for you at all.”  
  
Enoka looked up at Whetu. He met her eyes.  
  
“I do.” He said. “I can’t leave things like this. I know I can’t mend everything, but please let me fix what I can, Whetu.”  
  
Balling her hands up into fists, Whetu had to admit she couldn’t find a reason to turn him away.  
  
“Fine.” She said. “Go with my sister, I’ll see you again when the company assembles.”  
  
Enoka nodded, thanked Whetu, and began walking towards the army encampment. Inwardly, Whetu couldn’t help but wonder if Mahuika had something to do with Enoka’s change of heart.  
  
…  
  
By the time the sun started its long decent towards the horizon, Whetu and her companions were ready to reconvene in the army camp. All told, the Queen’s Company would consist of Whetu herself plus fifteen companions:  
  
The core of the group would be made up of Whetu’s best friends Mira and Taki, plus her older sister Tohunga Nixie. (who would also function as a kind of chaplain) Enoka had joined the group as Nixie’s helper. Taki’s brother Makani was joined by his fellow Toa: Kai Ranginui, Makura Patariki, Ihu Ririnui, and Tangaroa Aranui. Demeter, Hysperia, and their father, King Jira, had brought two young Levakian males into the fold as well:  
  
Anathi and Quaxo were both young males who were currently doing their Rite of Passage. It goes something like this: When a male lion grows old enough to mate, he is kicked out of the Pride and forced to live on his own as a Rogue Lion. These youngsters were only allowed to re-enter Levakian society if they attempted a Pride Takeover, that is, to fight an adult male for control of another pride.  
  
Anathi was a golden-brown lion with a small scraggly mane that hadn’t fully grown in yet. He bore fresh scars on his face from a recent battle with the King of some unknown Pride. Anathi seemed to have an eye for Demeter, and after asking a few questions, Whetu was convinced that Anathi had only joined the Company in hopes of getting closer to Jira’s daughter.  
  
Quaxo, on the other hand, became fast friends with Tohunga Nixie and Mira, and there was no doubt why. Whetu’s jaw fell open when she saw his snow-white fur and vivid purple eyes. Quaxo was a little older than Anathi, but had not yet attempted to seize a Pride for himself. Instead, he had devoted himself to studying.  
  
“All white lions can do magic.” Quaxo explained, “But I’m still learning and can’t do much yet. There’s much I have yet to discover!”  
  
Quaxo’s specialty seemed to be mind tricks. He showed off his talents by causing Whetu and her friends to see and hear things that weren’t there. He frightened Hysperia by making her think there were a hundred snakes beneath her paws, and then for the grand finale: Quaxo deceived Taki into believing she was a boy. Whetu, Mira, and Enoka all showed Taki evidence to the contrary, but nothing they did or said could convince Taki otherwise until Quaxo lifted the spell.  
  
But the fifteenth and final member of the group was the most curious. This last person was a man who lived in one of the outlying settlements, far to the north of Candon. He was unusually tall for his age and had messy white hair, yet this is where his resemblance to a Partogan stops. His skin was so pale it couldn’t be called brown, and he had dark eyes that seemed to drill into the souls of all who met them. Taki was in a hurry to introduce him.  
  
“This guy is an old friend of the Tamihana family.” She said. “He was actually part of the Levakian army that was going to attack the Snowskins before the world ended!”  
  
“I remember you.” King Jira said. “And I’m glad to see you again. Your services as an interpreter may come into play before long.”  
  
“Interpreter?” Whetu asked. “Does that mean you understand the Snowskin language?”  
  
The interpreter nodded.  
  
“I can speak enough _Nihongo_ to keep a conversation going.” He said. “I was born and raised in a mixed village in the northern marshlands, where a small number of Maori and Nihonjin lived together. My name is Tashiro Koponui. As my name implies, I’m a half-breed.”  
  
“Partogans.” Nixie corrected him.  
  
Enoka spluttered from shock.  
  
“That… That’s not possible, man! You can’t be half-Snowskin!”  
  
“Clearly, it is improbable and not impossible.” Mira pointed out. “How else would he have our white hair and the dark eyes of a Snowskin?”  
  
Tashiro gave Enoka a thin-lipped smile.  
  
“When the King learned about the Levakian plans to attack, he assumed you Maori people were going to be in on the scheme,” He explained. “He ordered all non-Nihonjin people to be expelled from our towns and cities. That’s how I came to be in your lands at all. I would have died homeless and starving, but the Empress offered a great bounty for anyone who could speak Nihongo, so I volunteered. But then, of course, the world ended. I thought my skills would never be needed again, yet here I am, being proven wrong.”  
  
Whetu grasped Tashiro’s arm and gave him warm words:  
  
“You and your language skills are welcome here. We’ll be glad to have you with us.”  
  
“If shouldn’t be too much trouble to capture some Snowskins alive.” Toa Ihu said. “We’ll have work for you before you know it.”  
  
“It doesn’t have to be live prisoners.” Tashiro said. “I can read as well.”  
  
Whetu heard this and was struck by a sudden idea!  
  
“Hold on! I might have something for you to read!”  
  
She jumped up and scrambled over to the other side of the room, where a wooden chest contained all of the Queen’s possessions. Whetu pulled out a long package wrapped in fabric and brought it back to the group.  
  
“This is a Snowskin… uh… _thing…_ I found it in that camp we raided two weeks back. Can you read what the note says?”  
  
Whetu unwrapped the crystal sword, which immediately drew awed gasps from the rest of the company. While the magnificent weapon was passed around and examined by everyone in the group, Tashiro took the paper note, held it in the light of the setting sun, and read aloud:  
  
“ _Miko ni o todoke kudasai_ …. Hmm. It seems that someone wanted this sword delivered to a shrine.”  
  
“A shrine?” Whetu repeated. “What? Why?”  
  
“Shrines are used to house and safeguard sacred objects.” Tashiro replied as he gave the sword a practice swing. “This weapon must be one such thing.”  
  
Quaxo sniffed the crystalline blade while Tohunga Nixie examined it closely.  
  
“There is strange magic in this sword.” Quaxo said. “And you found this in an armory?”  
  
I have no doubt that King Inari is aware of this sword.” Tashiro said. “He has dabbled in dark magic before. He must be the one who ordered the weapon to be enshrined.”  
  
“Well, if we’re fighting a guy who knows magic, then it’s a good thing we’ve got a magic weapon of our own.” Enoka said. “Now we just have to figure out how to use it.”  
  
“Too easy.” Toa Kai cut in. “We use the blade to cut off his head, simple as that.”  
  
“I wish it was that simple.” Whetu sighed. “It probably won’t be, though.”  
  
…  
  
With the Queen’s Company assembled, the time had finally come to embark on the expedition into Snowskin territory. The night before departure, the Empress and all of the Rangatira and Kings who wouldn’t be going gathered outside of Candon to witness the largest Haka dance in history. Whetu was no fool. She knew that her army would need the favor of Gods other than Mahuika and had orchestrated tonight’s events to secure said favor. For most of the evening, Partogan Hapus paraded past the city, each performing their own Haka. The warriors shouted in unison, slapping their arms and legs and brandishing their weapons. They stuck out their tongues and made scary faces, all the while singing about their strength and courage. The gathered Rangatira and Tohunga from town recited incantations and called upon the entire Maori pantheon for protection. Two Tohunga who knew Nixie well placed the entire army under Tapu, granting all of its members spiritual protection.  
  
Finally, the Empress gave the final order.  
  
“My Vassal Whetu, you shall take this army I have given you and seek out the Snowskin enemy wherever he may hide. Seize his bounty of ill-gotten food and return it to us; or else, do not return here at all.”  
  
Queen Whetu bowed to the Empress and swore to obey her command.  
  
The next morning, Levakian huntresses fanned out across the land, sniffing out the trail of the wagon train that had carted off the trove of food from the old campsite. Friends and families made their final arrangements as the combined army of Partogans and Levakians came together in its new order of battle.  
  
Whetu’s father, Akamu, would be commanding a Hapu, which elevated him to the status of Rangatira. Whetu’s mother and brother would be staying home to care for the young and elderly being left behind. Dalu promised to keep a sharp eye on the Levakian Empress and ensure she would be alive on the day of Whetu’s return.  
  
All told, the number of Partogans who had shown up was actually greater than that of the Levakians. Most lions had either already starved to death or were on the brink of doing so, meaning that very few huntresses were in good enough shape for a war.  
  
Whetu’s army consisted of roughly 2750 people. It was divided up into fifteen Hapus. Each Hapu contained one hundred soldiers and was supported by an additional fifty non-combatant women and children. This meant that of the original 2750 members of the army, only 2000 were actual soldiers. Five-hundred of these warriors were Levakians, and the overwhelming majority of the force were Partogans.  
  
Just before sunrise, Whetu gathered together her company as well as all of the Hapu commanders, bringing them to the top of a nearby hill and pointing towards that distant point of yellow light that had been present on the western horizon for two weeks now.  
  
“I want that to be our first destination.” Whetu told the assembled leaders and allies. “The more I look to the West, the more I’m convinced that the Fire Goddess is signaling us from there. She wants us to follow. Does everyone agree?”  
  
Confused hesitation permeated through the group as Rangatira muttered to one another. Finally, Sarda Kealoha spoke up.  
  
“My child, I think you’ve forgotten that you’ve been pronounced our Queen by her Highness the Empress. Your high rank means you no longer need to ask for our agreement or consent to do anything. The army will go wherever you direct.”  
  
Whetu let out a nervous chuckle.  
  
“Oh, right. Sorry. I… uh… I know none of you asked me to lead, I was just… I just…”  
  
Tohunga Nixie put a hand on her sister’s shoulders.  
  
“It’s okay, Whetu. Your destiny was thrown at you just like everyone else.”  
  
“I know, but it doesn’t feel fair.” Whetu protested. “Can I really just boss you all around because the Empress said I could? It just doesn’t feel right.”  
  
“No one said being a leader ever felt right.” The Mihaka Rangatira said. “As long as you do what is right and respect the Tapus, we’ll follow and obey.”  
  
This didn’t make Whetu feel any better, but then Mira voiced an idea aloud:  
  
“Would you feel better if we did ask you to lead us?”  
  
Everyone turned to look at the young Mihaka. She folded her arms and continued:  
  
“The Empress already made you Queen, and there’s nothing we can do about that. But perhaps we can all agree amongst ourselves that we actually want you to lead us, Whetu. Would that help?”  
  
Whetu nodded, and Enoka spoke up, making his voice loud enough to be heard by all:  
  
“Alright then, let’s put it to a vote! Who here actually wants Whetu to be our Queen? Hands up if you do! Come on, let’s see ’em! Paws too, Quaxo!”  
  
There was a general rustling noise as people raised their hands and paws, confirming their vote of support for Whetu. Enoka flitted around the group, counting all raised hands and paws while remembering to count himself last.  
  
“…Thirteen… fourteen… fifteen! How’s that, Whetu? That’s fifteen people who actually want you to be Queen.”  
  
“More than that, Ihaka.” Tohunga Nixie said, pointing over his shoulder.  
  
All of the Levakian Kings, plus two Rangatira had also raised their hands. The Mihaka elder said:  
  
“I don’t care what the Empress had to do with it, Tohunga. That girl was chosen by the Fire Goddess. I’d follow her to the bottom of the world if she asked me to.”  
  
A nervous laugh went around the assembled leaders while Enoka dismissed the additional votes as “too many to count.” Getting some of her confidence back, Whetu took a deep breath and said:  
  
“Okay, fine. The Empress told me to be Queen, Mahuika kissed me, and now you’ve voted for me, I guess I’m in this for the long ride. So, let’s try again.” Whetu pointed towards the shimmering yellow light on the horizon. “That’s where we’re going, and we’re leaving at first light tomorrow. Does everyone understand?”  
  
As one, the Queen’s Company and the gathered army leaders replied:  
  
“Yes! Yes! Yes!”


	5. Journey Through the Dark Forest

Whetu’s Army set out at first light. Multiple trackers, huntress, and Wayfinders observed the position of the mysterious yellow light in the distance, allowing the army to navigate towards it while the sun was high and masking their destination from view. Twenty-seven-hundred men, women, children, and lions moved out in large groups, strung out across the landscape in a rather messy line. Levakians prowled the fringes of the group, keeping an eye on the flanks.  
  
By the mid-afternoon, the city of Candon had vanished from view, and the army quickly happened upon the muddy flatland that lay beyond the brown river. Very few members of the army had actually seen it before, since only foragers like Whetu, Mira, Taki, and Enoka came out this far from town. Whetu told her Rangatira to have their Hapus make camp while scouts attempted to find the shortest way across. Soldiers and followers alike dropped their gear and prepared to spend the rest of the day resting and recovering while the scouts moved out.  
  
King Jira, Demeter, Hysperia, Anathi and Quaxo tracked together across the flatlands while Whetu and her friends stayed in camp to receive their first day of combat training from Whetu’s father. Everyone gathered around near the edge of the flatlands, where the ground was even and level. Akamu gave Whetu, Taki, Mira, Enoka, and Tashiro a spear before starting class. Toa Makura Patariki was also there to help.  
  
“Normally, all boys receive warrior training as soon as they are old enough to hold a club.” Akamu began.  
  
“That’s right.” Enoka confirmed. “If the world hadn’t ended, I probably would have been a Toa for the village of Tauranga.”  
  
“Well, now you’re the Queen’s Toa.” Akamu said. “Same for you, girls. In a situation like this, we can’t make exceptions. You must become Toa as well. Let’s get started.”  
  
It was a great challenge, compressing the type of training that normally took years into a single afternoon. Akamu and Toa Makura relied heavily on Enoka for help. Enoka, for his part, was already partially trained, and he picked up their lessons quickly.  
  
Because Partogan warfare revolved entirely around hand-to-hand combat, the building of strength and endurance was deemed far more important than mastery of any weapon. Toa Makura led Enoka and the girls in physical drills, doing pushups on the sandy ground. Then Whetu and her friends were made to pick up heavy stones and carry them great distances. Once everybody’s arms were sore, Akamu began to teach the second-most important thing a Toa warrior needed to know about: Reflexes.  
  
“Keep your eyes on my shoulders and feet!” Akamu said. He picked up his fighting staff and held it in front of him. “Many a fighter will betray his next movements with a twitch of the muscle!”  
  
He lunged forward and struck Whetu on the head with his staff! She shrieked and rubbed her ear while Taki jumped up and down on the balls of her feet, pointing at Akamu and gasping:  
  
“Oh! I saw it! I saw what you mean!”  
  
“Oh, you did now?” Whetu grumbled.  
  
Akamu swung his staff at her again! This time, Whetu kicked her feet forward and allowed her body to fall to the ground! She was now lying flat on her back in the dirt, but at least she hadn’t been hit. That was good enough for Whetu, for now at least.  
  
“Reflexes.” Akamu said. “This is something you will just have to practice.”  
  
“Of course.” Mira replied. “Skill comes with practice, and I do not mind having more than one skill.”  
  
Finally, Mira, Taki, Enoka, and Tashiro were given new weapons. (Whetu had grown fond of the crystal sword and refused to discard it.) Toa Makura and Akamu both insisted that Taki and Mira use spears to keep the enemy at a distance, while Tashiro had something to say about how Partogan weapons matched up against their Snowskin counterparts:  
  
“All of your weapons are made from either wood or bone. I guess you’re supposed to club or bludgeon the enemy to death with these, but Nihonjin weapons are different. Our weapons are made from metal and sharpened to be like shark teeth. Our swords are meant to cut and slice and hack flesh from bone. What do you have in the way of armor?”  
  
“Armor?” Enoka repeated.  
  
“You know, that padding Nihonjin soldiers wear over their clothes in battle, to protect from the enemy’s swords? You do wear something to cover your chests in a fight, don’t you?”  
  
Tashiro looked around at the group. The half-Snowskin turned from one Partogan to the next, looking and pointing at their bare torsos. His eyes widened.  
  
“Wait a minute, do you always go into battle uncovered?”  
  
“People of high rank get to wear cloaks.” Taki replied with a shrug. “But otherwise… yes. We fight like this.”  
  
Taki waved nonchalantly at her own outfit. Her skirt was clearly made for show instead of protection, as it was made from handspun flax and bird feathers. Like most Partogans her age, Taki didn’t want to hide her tattoos, therefore she wasn’t wearing anything over her torso. Tashiro looked at Taki with an alarmed expression before saying to Akamu:  
  
“I fear you might not be able to stand against my people in a fair fight.”  
  
“We’re Toa, Snowskin.” Akamu replied. “We don’t fight fair.”  
  
…  
  
By the end of the day, the crash course in warfare was over. Akamu and Toa Makura admitted that it would take years for Enoka, Tashiro, and the girls to train their bodies and build muscles to be on the same level as their tutors, but as long as they continued to practice, their skills would develop. Whetu asked her father if it would be okay for her to give her friends the title of “Toa” now, to which he answered:  
  
“You’re the Queen. That’s your decision. Just remember that it’s very rare for women to become Toa. Your friends might not find acceptance right away. They must practice patience, and wait for a chance to prove themselves in a fight.”  
  
“In case you haven’t noticed, sir,” Taki butted in, “Mira over there doesn’t give a damn about whether or not people accept her. All she cares about is practicing.”  
  
Throughout this conversation, Mira had been “practicing” the unknown skill Tohunga Nixie was teaching her. She appeared to be trying to walk forward at an extremely slow pace, taking well over a minute to lift her foot from the ground. At the mention of her name, Mira stopped what she was doing.  
  
“Your acceptance has no effect on my aim to become skilled.” Mira said. Then she returned to her practice.  
  
…  
  
That night, King Jira and his daughter came back with news. The vast flatland was, in fact, not so vast. It could be crossed in a day. Furthermore, there was a muddy water hole near the center of the region, suggesting that this was not a desert as many first believed.  
  
“It’s a lakebed!” Tohunga Nixie exclaimed! “The lake must have dried up when the world ended!”  
  
Whetu’s sister planned to build a large bonfire at the center of camp, and to hold a religious ceremony to thank the gods for such a fortuitous development. Whetu figured the gods must have been listening, because the strange yellow light appeared on the horizon when Tohunga Nixie voiced her plan. One by one, Whetu caught her friends and asked them if they wanted her to give them the title and rank of “Toa.”  
  
Taki accepted before Whetu finished talking.  
  
Mira gave it a great deal of thought before taking up the offer.  
  
Enoka accepted Whetu’s offer with a great deal of humility.  
  
Tashiro refused. He didn’t think it was appropriate since he was half-Snowskin.  
  
That night, Taki, Mira, and Enoka were each taken by a Toa to the bonfire Nixie had made. Several Rangatira, Nixie, and a second Tohunga were all waiting for them here alongside Queen Whetu. Tohunga Nixie and two of her fellow Tohunga led an elaborate ceremony, calling upon the Fire Goddess Mahuika to recognize and protect the allies and supporters of her chosen warrior, Whetu.  
  
Each time Tohunga Nixie spoke the name of one of Whetu’s friends, the great bonfire behind them would grow in size and send a great shower of sparks into the sky! Taki Tamihana went first, receiving the female-exclusive title “Toa Wahine.” She celebrated by performing a one-woman Haka dance; shouting to the skies above, brandishing her spear, and making threatening facial expressions while sticking out her tongue! The Rangatira from the Tamihana family was moved to tears by Toa Taki’s performance.  
  
Enoka became a Toa next. He approached the raging bonfire and swore an oath of loyalty to “The guardian of my friend, the Goddess Mahuika.” Then he grabbed a piece of charcoal from the outer ring of the firepit and drew a spiral symbol on his face. Whetu overheard a member of the Ihaka family asking if there was anyone in the army who could do facial tattoos.  
  
Predictably, Mira was the slowest to respond to being granted the title of Toa Wahine. She kept her speech short and simple.  
  
“Now, more than ever, practice is important. I shall remember the guidance of my Tohunga. I shall practice. I shall become skilled. I shall use my skills to serve my Queen.”  
  
Toa Mira, as she shall now be called, was not lying about practicing.  
  
Afterward and throughout the night, even after most others had gone to sleep, she could be seen patrolling the outer edge of the army’s encampment. Toa Mira moved incredibly slowly; so slowly in fact that it was difficult for the casual observer to tell she was moving at all. Yet, if one took their eyes off Toa Mira for even a moment, they would completely lose track of her for just a few seconds before spotting her in a completely different location, as though she had sprinted to her new position, only to hold perfectly still upon arrival.  
  
…  
  
The next day, Whetu’s army embarked on the great crossing of the flatlands. As the Levakians predicted, the flatlands really were just a dried-up lake. Advancing over smooth terrain was easy, and the whole army began to pick up speed. Hapus and hunting parties alike made such good time crossing the lakebed that foraging parties were sent toward the central waterhole to find anything edible. Once the army reached the center of the lakebed, the ground began to rise up towards a large hill that was just a little off the path Whetu’s army needed to take.  
  
“That was almost certainly an island, back when this place was filled with water.” Whetu commented. “Toa Enoka, take some fighters up there and scout around.”  
  
Truthfully, Whetu hadn’t come up with this idea on her own. Throughout the crossing, Demeter, Hysperia, and Toa Makura had been giving Whetu tips and advice about military strategy, and how to best use her soldiers. Nonetheless, Toa Enoka obeyed. He took Toa Ihu, Makani, Kai, and Anathi with him to the former island. About ten minutes later, the Levakian scampered back down the hill with news.  
  
“Great Queen!” Anathi panted as he arrived. “There is a forest on the far shore! It is a dark place and we saw nothing moving in there!”  
  
“A dark forest?” Whetu asked. “How big is it?”  
  
“Vast.” Anathi replied. “It stretches on to the distant horizon, and we saw the fires of Mahuika burning on the far side of it.”  
  
Whetu gulped. She’d been afraid of that.  
  
“Alright, we’ve got no choice.” Whetu said. “Pass the word to all hunting parties and Hapus. We’re going straight through that forest!”  
  
…  
  
Once she reached the far shore of the now-arid lake, Whetu realized the true nature of what lay in front of her army. Oh yes, it was a forest… but not of the kind any of the Partogans or Levakians had been expecting.  
  
Some months ago, before the world had ended, this had been a dense and lush forest, filled with great beech trees that grew wide. Once the branches crisscrossed the forest canopy to make a kind of roof while the ground level was covered in shrubbery and other small flora. Back in the day when the sun was unobscured, Whetu realized that this forest must have been some kind of paradise. She could see a trench in the ground where a river had once flowed into the now dry lake, where once these great woods had drawn life from.  
  
But now, it was all dead.  
  
A terrible fire had swept through the forest, turning everything and anything into ash. Great trees were reduced to charred skeletal husks of what had once been. Blackened stumps and little lumps in the ground marked the spot where some beautiful life had gone up in sparks and smoke. Burned twigs and branches snapped easily underfoot, while the air smelled of death and fire. The skeletons of animals were indistinguishable from the rest of the debris until they were stepped on. Toa Mira burst into tears when she realized she’d trodden on the remains of a family of Brakas. (tree-dwelling monkeys with prehensile tails) There was a haunted kind of silence here, like that of a person who has witnessed a terrible crime and was so overcome that they lost the ability to speak.  
  
Around the late afternoon, the army began to make camp. Effortlessly clearing away the remains of the incinerated undergrowth, very little fire making material could be found, causing Whetu and others to dread the coming night. Like always, the women and children who followed the Hapus were sent out to forage for food, but they came back with nothing, forcing the army to eat from its limited reserves.  
  
Using the largest branches and fallen trees around, the Queen’s Company set up a series of simple huts to sleep in for the night before moving out to help the other soldiers with their own shelters. At one point, Whetu found herself accompanying Toa Mira and Tohunga Nixie into the burned woods, where they were trying to find kindling.  
  
“Quaxo wants to try for a fire just once more.” Nixie explained. “I don’t blame him. There is a kind of evil in this forest, and I’d rather have some light other than the stars in our camp.”  
  
“An evil?” Whetu repeated. “You think the Snowskins burned this place?”  
  
Tohunga Nixie plucked some barely-living grass out of the soil and sighed.  
  
“No, I don’t mean the Snowskins, sister. There are other kinds of evil out there, you know. Whatever burned this forest is one of them.”  
  
“Whiro.”  
  
Toa Mira’s voice was so soft that the Kealoha siblings almost missed it. She had wandered a short distance away and was pressing one hand to the trunk of a dead tree. She was regarding the devastation around her with a newfound reverence. At the mention of the name of the God of Evil, both Whetu and her sister had fallen silent, as though they expected the ground to crack beneath them in retaliation.  
  
Whiro, a dark god, is said to live in the underworld and was the cause of all things bad or unfortunate. And now that Whetu thought about it, this actually was the sort of place Whiro might be found. That was why the air seemed so foul here, the silence so unnerving.  
  
“Whiro is here.” Toa Mira said. “Right now. He’s in the charcoal, in the ashes. In the dead things beneath our feet. Whiro killed this forest, but he never left it. He’s everywhere… all around us…”  
  
Whetu felt the hair standing up on the back her neck. Instinctively, she reached down to her belt and gripped the handle of her crystal sword. She didn’t know why, but Whetu noticed that she seemed to feel just a little safer with the strange weapon in her hand. She had no way of knowing for sure, but Whetu got the feeling that if Whiro had come for her in that moment, she probably could have held her own, if only for a moment.  
  
…  
  
If Whetu could have her way, she would never sleep in the charred forest again. As soon as the sun went down, the whole place was thrown into a deep, deep darkness that was definitely not natural. It pressed in from all sides, and was made even worse by the oppressive silence. Every little noise, the smallest sound, was like an almighty crash! Within an hour, Whetu vacated her own bed and wriggled under the same blanket as the Tamihana siblings, Toa Taki and Toa Makani.  
  
Unfortunately, this did not help at all. Whetu accidentally woke up Toa Taki when she got into bed with her, and now both Taki and Whetu were on high alert, sitting up and staring into the now-frightening darkness. Finally, after a distant snapping of twigs caused Toa Taki to scream, her brother awoke with a start! Toa Makani seized his fighting staff and tried to sortie out of the hut to fight whatever was out there, only to trip and fall after a few paces in the night. He yelled, then someone else yelled. In just a few moments, nearly half of the soldiers in the camp were out of bed with weapons drawn! The silence was suddenly filled with the sounds of warriors striking and fighting one another in the confusion! Men shouted and lions roared! In the pitch darkness, absolutely none of this was visible! Whetu heard and felt the chaos around her, keeping one hand on Toa Taki to avoid being lost in the crush of bodies!  
  
Somehow, in all the commotion that followed, somebody was able to find Tohunga Nixie and wake her up. Or, much more likely, the Tohunga was already awake, and only now was able to make her voice heard:  
  
“Everyone! Be silent and still!”  
  
Whetu couldn’t see her sister in the darkness, but Nixie’s voice echoed off the dead trees and reverberated around the camp in the same unnatural way the silence had pressed down before. The Toa, with a little help from King Jira and Quaxo, yelled and called out for all of the panicking Partogans and Levakians to be quiet. After a few moments, the chaos died down.  
  
“We cannot allow Whiro to conquer us in the dark!” Tohunga Nixie called out. “I will place our camp under Tapu! Stay in your shelters until the sun rises and you will be safe!”  
  
Pushing through the crowd towards the sound of Tohunga Nixie’s voice, Whetu found her sister in the darkness and grabbed her arm!  
  
“Nixie! Call out Mahuika! We need fire! We need light!”  
  
Whetu felt her sister grasp her own hand tightly. Then Tohunga Nixie raised her voice, speaking so loudly that her Karakia echoed off the low clouds:  
  
“Mahuika! Mother of the Fire Children, from whom the light and heat of flame originates! My sister, your chosen warrior, calls for you now! Banish Whiro from this place! Send the darkness away!”  
  
And then there was light!  
  
Fire, unlike anything Whetu had ever seen before, erupted! On the far edge of the camp, the biggest and oldest tree was suddenly enveloped in a raging inferno! The whole camp was illuminated! Even from here, Whetu could see that this was no ordinary fire! The flames were blue and purple! A halo of supernatural fire crowned the upper branches of the long-dead tree!  
  
“Mahuika is here!” Quaxo roared. “Begone from this place, Whiro! Begone!”  
  
The light and warmth of the Goddess’ fire pushed against the imposing darkness, and Whetu could feel the cold air being pushed away. She breathed a deep sigh of relief and finally let go of the crystal sword. She’s been gripping the handle for so long that her hand was starting to go numb.  
  
Toa Taki leaned against a charred tree and said:  
  
“Well, I’m not sleeping tonight. Don’t think anyone else is, either.”  
  
…  
  
The burning tree remained lit until sunrise, casting its blue light across the whole camp. Without being ordered to, the soldiers and followers of Whetu’s army packed up their gear and cargo, and were ready to leave before the sun had fully risen. Quaxo and Tohunga Nixie both took branches of the burning tree with them, on the off-chance they needed to call Mahuika again.  
  
A young lioness clawed her way up to the top of a particularly large burned tree and scanned the horizon, searching for the flickering yellow light Whetu had been using as a guide.  
  
“I can see it!” The lioness cried out. “The forest ends just beyond the next ridge! There’s open ground and a river, Mahuika’s light is on the other side!”  
  
“Hapus, move out together!” Whetu ordered. “Demeter, Hysperia! Take hunting parties to scout ahead! We need to know what’s out there!”  
  
While soldiers began to carry out her orders, Whetu waited for the young lioness to descend the tree before asking:  
  
“How long do you think it would take a huntress like you to reach that river?”  
  
“About a day and a half, maybe two days.” The lioness replied.  
  
Whetu folded her arms in thought.  
  
“We need to think like hunters. We’re in Snowskin territory now, but still haven’t seen any foragers or farmers.” Whetu said. “I want you to spread the word to the other lionesses: start hunting and tracking single individuals. People out alone or far from help. We need to know exactly what’s out there. And make sure the huntresses stay together!”  
  
The lioness nodded and started loping through the forest on all fours, but not before Whetu heard the lioness’ voice say:  
  
_She thinks like one of us! I like her!_  
  
“Oh, thank you!” Whetu called after the lioness.  
  
The young Levakian stopped in her tracks and gave Whetu a confused look.  
  
“I… uh… I didn’t say anything, but you’re welcome.”  
  
Then the lioness scampered away again. Once more, Whetu could have sworn she’d heard the lioness say something to herself, but this time she had been closely watching, and she saw that the Levakian’s mouth never moved.  
  
Whetu couldn’t help but wonder if she was hearing things.


	6. The Irresistable Power of the Mind

Not a single man, woman, or feline was saddened to see the end of the burned forest. Truthfully, this had something to do with the fact that the charred and ruined terrain seemed to slowly fade away with each step forward, bringing them closer to much friendlier-looking terrain.  
  
At first, Whetu only noticed short blades of grass poking through the ashen rubble on the forest floor. But sometime around mid-morning, young children and adolescent lions were running through the Hapus, playing with newly grown tree roots they’d pulled from the ground. Vines cautiously wrapped themselves around the sturdiest of dead trees, while a lone songbird rendered a sorrowful requiem for the forest. Quaxo, Mira, and Tohunga Nixie spent most of the morning journey in a kind of trance, putting one foot in front of the other without really giving much thought to the people around them.  
  
Whetu marched alongside her father at the front of his Hapu. The men, women, and youngsters who made up this formation were from branches of the extended Kealoha family. The last time Whetu had been reminded of the sheer size of her own family was before the world had ended. She’d completely forgotten that the Kealoha clan was large and powerful enough to field its own Hapu. Whetu’s father made her very uncomfortable by pointing out each young man who wasn’t actually related to Whetu by blood and also eligible for marriage.  
  
While Akamu carried on in his own way, Whetu spotted Toa Enoka Ihaka running towards the front of the army, no doubt on his way to speak with someone. For just a brief moment, Whetu wondered to herself what the message was.  
  
 _Tell King Jira the red meat is starting to spoil! Hysperia says the red meat is spoiling!  
  
_ Whetu could hear Toa Enoka’s voice as clearly as though he was standing right next to her, even though by this point he was more than a stone’s throw away. Instinctively, Whetu called after him!  
  
“Did Hysperia tell the camp followers to salt the meat!?”  
  
“Already started, but it might be too late!” Toa Enoka yelled over his shoulder. Then he skidded to a stop, turned around, and said: “Wait! How do you already know about the meat stocks going bad!? We only found out just now!”  
  
It was Whetu’s turn to freeze up in confusion.  
  
“Huh, you just said… I heard you!”  
  
“I wasn’t talking, I swear!” Toa Enoka now looked very alarmed. “Are you reading my mind? Is that white lion teaching you witchcraft? Quaxo, or whatever his name is?”  
  
When Whetu couldn’t answer, Toa Enoka said he needed to deliver the message to King Jira and ran off, leaving his friend very puzzled.  
  
 _Perhaps she got even less sleep last night than I thought._  
  
Again, Whetu responded without thinking first. It was her father’s voice, after all, and he was standing right next to her!  
  
“I slept fine, dad!”  
  
Before she even turned her head to face her father, Whetu heard him take a step back and gasp sharply. While Akamu’s face registered shock and alarm, several other Toa had paused in their tracks, gazing at their queen with awe.  
  
“Incredible.” One Toa said.  
  
“I thought only Levakians could do magic like that.” Another whispered. “You know, read minds and all?”  
  
“You thought wrong, friend.” Said a third Toa.  
  
Whetu was now very scared. She had no idea what was going on, but she was becoming increasingly aware of voices. Far more voices than just the few people around her, and they were coming from all directions. Whetu’s heartbeat quickened as she raised her hands to her ears, trying to block out he whispers that grew louder and louder with each moment! Yet her palms did nothing to block out the noise! If anything, the voices only grew louder, talking over one another in a senseless drone!  
  
“What’s happening!?” Whetu gasped. “What’s going on!?”  
  
Then a thundering of paws made the ground below Whetu’s feet tremble, just before a large furry presence made itself known beside her! A white lion’s paw forcefully pressed a large mass of green plant matter into Whetu’s open mouth.  
  
“Chew and swallow!” Quaxo commanded! “The voices will cease!”  
  
Unable to resist the massive Levakian paw on her face, Whetu complied, swallowing the bitter green plant. Whatever it was, it took effect in a matter of seconds! The voices lost their volume, fading away. But then, the entire world also began to lose color. Whetu was rapidly losing the ability to see, hear, feel, taste or smell! Formless shapes of color swirled around her as she fell down into a multicolored abyss before blacking out entirely.  
  
…  
  
“…You absolute moron! Harakeke overdoses can have serious consequences! If the Queen wakes up at all, you’ll be lucky if she doesn’t cut off your tail!!”  
  
“You mean someone hasn’t already?”  
  
Whetu’s groggy voice put an end to whatever argument she woke up in the middle of. She could smell some kind of smoke in the air around her. Sitting up, Whetu realized someone had carried her into a hastily-built hut. Quaxo, Tohunga Nixie, and Toa Mira were all gathered around Whetu’s bed. Toa Mira was holding an incense stick and was slowly wafting a mildly-unpleasant smell throughout the room.  
  
“You’re awake!” Tohunga Nixie gasped. “Thank goodness! Don’t sit up too quickly!”  
  
Too late. No sooner had Whetu sat upright than she was overwhelmed by a sense of dizziness. She slumped back into bed and asked in a slurred voice:  
  
“Wha… Wha’s wrong with me?”  
  
“You are under the effect of Harakeke.” Toa Mira explained. “It slows the mind and body.”  
  
“Yeah… so I’ve noticed.” Whetu said. “This got something to do with those voices I was hearing?”  
  
“Why, it has everything to do with those voices!” Quaxo replied. “You were suffering from uncontrolled mind reading! It’s nearly always the first sign of magical prowess!”  
  
“You’ve been blessed by Mahuika.” Tohunga Nixie said. “She’s given you the same magic as the White Levakians. This must have been the power the Empress saw in you that night!”  
  
Whetu wasn’t sure how she felt about this. Sure, she’d occasionally wondered or fantasized about what having magic power would be like, but now she’d been left with an overwhelmingly negative first impression of the reality of being able to read minds.  
  
Quaxo had seen this thought go through Whetu’s mind, and offered a few words:  
  
“Please don’t dismiss your powers yet, my Queen. We are here to teach and instruct you. You will learn to harness and control this wonderous Gift you’ve been given, as I have, and as Toa Mira is learning.”  
  
Whetu turned her head to look at Toa Mira so quickly that her neck bones creaked.  
  
“Mira! You’ve got magic too!?”  
  
Toa Mira shrugged as though this was supposed to be common knowledge.  
  
“I have the ability, but I am not skilled. I must practice more.” Toa Mira replied. “Do you want to practice with me? We can become skilled together.”  
  
Ignoring the head rush and dizziness, Whetu launched herself out of bed and gave Toa Mira a big hug.  
  
“That would be great!”  
  
…  
  
As it turned out, the army had stopped all forward motion and pitched camp for the night while Whetu was recovering. While foragers went out in search of food, Tohunga Nixie summoned the Queen’s Company to a small field just outside of camp. Most of them had heard the news about Whetu taking ill, but didn’t know the full story. When Whetu's sister brought everyone up to speed, her companions had a wide range of reactions to the news:  
  
Toa Taki admitted to being very jealous. She wanted magic of her own and asked if Whetu felt like sharing. Her brother, Toa Makani, didn’t want powers of his own, but he did have a long list of requests for Whetu. People he wanted her to “bewitch” or “curse.”  
  
Toa Enoka went pale and stopped talking. Quaxo claimed that Toa Enoka was trying to clear his mind, and that he was frightened that Whetu might be able to see his daydreams and fantasies. (Which almost certainly featured Whetu)  
  
Toa Ihu, Tangaroa, Makura, and Kai all immediately assumed this meant the war was over, and that Whetu could simply make the enemy vanish with a snap of her fingers. Tashiro was quick to correct them, saying that King Inari, the Snowskin leader, wielded magic of his own and was probably very dangerous in his own right.  
  
Anathi, King Jira, Hysperia, and Demeter were all very supportive of Whetu. Magic was common amongst Levakians, and all of them knew multiple lions who could perform fantastic feats. Quaxo confirmed that he was not the only magic user in the army. Whetu’s new powers were without question, a good thing.  
  
At Tohunga Nixie’s request, everyone volunteered to help Whetu get familiar with her newfound power.  
  
“First, you must learn to listen all over again.” Nixie told her sister. “Wait here a moment.”  
  
The Tohunga instructed Whetu’s friends to gather as many large rocks as possible and place them around Whetu, making sure to scatter them with no recognizable pattern. Once this was done, Toa Mira stepped through the field of stones towards Whetu.  
  
“What am I supposed to do?” Whetu asked. “Move the rocks with my mind or something?”  
  
“You will move the rocks, but not with your mind.” Toa Mira replied. “You will construct a cairn. We will tell you where to place each stone, and you must listen to us.”  
  
Then, Toa Mira produced two long, thin pieces of fabric. She tied the first around Whetu’s face, blindfolding her so well that all the young Queen could see was a dull light from the afternoon sun and nothing else.  
  
“But wait a second!” Whetu protested. “How is this supposed to help me learn to use magic?”  
  
“You must learn to listen.” Toa Mira said.  
  
Then, Whetu felt a very uncomfortable sensation on both sides of her head. Toa Mira was pressing pieces of soft clay into Whetu’s ears, then holding them in place by tying a second strap of fabric around Whetu’s head. Suddenly, Whetu was both blind and deaf.  
  
Standing stock-still, Whetu was alone in a silent world for just a few seconds before she was hit by a wall of sound.  
  
The voices of all fifteen of Whetu’s companions rang out at once, speaking as clearly as though they were somehow inside of her mind and talking directly to her! It was impossible to tell who was who or what they were saying, as each word loudly overlapped and drowned out the others!  
  
Whetu clapped her hands to her ears and tried to shut out the noise, but it was no good! At once, the voice of Quaxo became so loud that it drowned out all others to the point Whetu could make out what he was saying!  
  
“Do not close yourself!” Quaxo’s voice commanded. “Focus your mind and listen! You must focus!”  
  
Whetu, disoriented, tried to take a step forward to steady herself. Immediately, Toa Enoka’s voice cut through the noise.  
  
“Stop! You’re going to trip!”  
  
Whetu held fast, and the nature of the noise in her mind changed. Everybody reacted to the fact that she had just acknowledged somebody’s voice. Congratulations and praise battered Whetu’s mind, but in the middle of it all, she could still make out Toa Enoka’s voice.  
  
“Large rock, just in front of you.”  
  
Slowly and cautiously, Whetu knelt down and found it. Much like a person does when trying to have a conversation in a crowded room, Whetu was now focusing all of her attention on Toa Enoka’s voice alone. Even though it was roughly the same volume as all of the other voices, Whetu kept her focus locked on his as he directed her to pick up rocks and move them towards the cairn before dropping them into place.  
  
Things went well for about two or three minutes. Whetu was able to move along at a decent pace before she made a mistake. Trying to move a little faster, Whetu quickened her pace. Toa Enoka wasn’t able to relay instructions to her quickly enough, and Whetu accidentally walked right into a heavy rock on the ground. Her bare feet didn’t take this well, and the shock of pain caused Whetu to drop her stone and fall to the ground. In a moment, her earplugs and blindfold were removed by an ecstatic-looking Nixie.  
  
“You did very well!” The Tohunga said. “I think you understand the basics, but you must practice!”  
  
“Like Mira?” Whetu groaned, holding her throbbing toe.  
  
“Precisely.”  
  
Behind them both, Toa Mira had carried on the construction of the cairn. Her eyes were closed and her ears plugged. The rest of the company was cheering her on while a select few shouted instructions.  
  
“You know, I always thought Toa Mira was a little crazy.” Whetu said. “But she’s really got the same magic as me?”  
  
“Yes.” Nixie replied, “But I’ll be honest, she is a little crazy.”  
  
…  
  
By the time the sun went down, Whetu decided that she was fit enough to continue on, and she put out the word that the army would continue moving towards the river that had been seen from the Charred Forest. As night fell, Whetu, Mira, Anathi, and Tashiro climbed to the top of the nearest hill and searched for Mahuika’s light.  
  
“There it is!” Tashiro pointed to the Northwest. “What is that!?”  
  
The flickering yellow light of Mahuika had re-appeared in the distance, along the slopes of something utterly massive.  
  
“It is a mountain.” Mira said. “A very large mountain.”  
  
Rising up from the Western horizon was the largest mountain anyone had ever seen. It stood alone, and rose so high into the sky that dark clouds obscured the summit from view. Mahuika’s light was along the northern face of the mountain, near the base.  
  
“I guess that’s were we’re going.” Whetu said. “You guys go spread the word we’ll have to cross that river sooner or later. Send out scouts to find a shallow spot.”  
  
Anathi and Tashiro moved off at a run while Toa Mira, predictably, shuffled away at the painfully slow speed Whetu had long since gotten used to. Watching her old friend go, Whetu couldn’t help but think to herself that this adventure had at least done a little good for Toa Mira. The young Mihaka woman had always been pudgy and out of shape, but tonight, she could no longer be described as “heavy” or “overweight.” Now if only something could be done about her movement speed. Whetu let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes for the briefest moment.  
  
When she opened her eyes again, Toa Mira was nowhere to be seen. Somehow, she had descended the hill, run back into camp, and vanished from view faster than Whetu was able to blink. For a moment, the Queen was genuinely alarmed, but then she remembered something. Toa Mira had been practicing some strange skill, one that had been taught to her by Tohunga Nixie. Perhaps this was it.  
  
“Well…” Whetu sighed. “Guess this means I gotta start practicing too.”


	7. A Terrible Fight by the Riverbank

Whetu's army reached the new river two days after it was first spotted. Unlike the one in the charred forest, this river was far less strangled with debris. The water flowed quickly enough to make a gentle rushing sound, and Demeter claimed to have seen fish swimming through the shallows. Whetu and King Jira looked over the army’s food reserves and came to a quick decision. All of the red meat had gone bad and was no longer edible. It was dumped in a pile and left behind while foragers fanned out to begin fishing.  
  
Hysperia, Tashiro, Toa Ihu, and Toa Taki spent most of the day trying to find a place where the army could cross the river, which was just wide and deep enough to be a true obstacle. Demeter took a scouting party along the riverbank, searching for anything of interest.  
  
While she waited for Demeter to return, Whetu took inventory of the army’s food supply. To put it bluntly, the army only had about a week’s worth of food left. Most of the raw meat was spoiling before it could be cooked, and now some of the vegetables were beginning to rot as well. It was a stroke of truly good luck that the army had happened upon a clean river with living fish in it.  
  
Several hours later, Demeter returned to the camp and started looking for the Queen. Whetu was helping some women clean and fillet a bounty of Ruki fish taken from the river. She actually heard the lioness coming long before she came into view. Demeter panted loudly, racing through the camp at high speed before she came to a skidding stop near the Queen. She was so eager to get her message across that she ignored the fresh fish Whetu offered her. Instead, Demeter launched into her report:  
  
“Snowskins! A whole village of them!” Demeter panted. “Probably about two-hundred-fifty of them living in little shacks on the riverside!”  
  
“Show me!”  
  
…  
  
Whetu followed Demeter back the way she had come, running so quickly that her feet barely seemed to touch the ground. Tashiro and Toa Enoka were waiting at the top of a small grassy hill. Down in the valley below, Whetu could see it for herself.  
  
There was a Snowskin settlement down there. It seemed to spill out into the water, where several structures had been built in the river itself, resting on precarious stilts. Partially flooded farmland surrounded the village and a small number of people could be seen wading through ankle-deep water as they tended to green plants.  
  
“A farming community.” Tashiro said. “These people look like they’re about to finish a harvest. You can see the tracks in the road where a wagon train recently departed.”  
  
He was right. A large rut had been worn into a nearby road, marking the spot where people and wagons had left, travelling due west.  
  
“The harvest is not yet complete.” Tashiro explained. “A great deal of work is required just to harvest a single grain of rice. If we move quickly, we may gather enough food to continue our march toward Mahuika’s light.”  
  
Toa Enoka pointed towards the worn-out road leading away from town.  
  
“Does anyone think that’s the trail those wagons followed when we lost all that food back at Candon? It leads toward the mountain, and Mahuika’s light.”  
  
“There’s only one way to find out.” Whetu said. “Let’s talk to the Rangatiria.”  
  
…  
  
Anathi, Quaxo, and several other Levakians were dispatched to gather the rest of the army leadership. In groups of two or three at a time, they arrived on the hilltop and looked down on the Snowskin village. All of the Rangatira and Kings were excited at the prospect of battle, and even more so when they realized the army was up against an easy target.  
  
“No walls, no spikes or traps, no defenses of any kind!” The Ririnui leader proclaimed. “We’ve clearly been fortunate.”  
  
“Look there, on the southern approach!” A Levakian King pointed with one paw. “That farmer has taken his children into the field. These people are beyond defenseless, they’re vulnerable!”  
  
“It’s not common for ordinary villagers to carry weapons.” Tashiro said. “If they see an overwhelming show of force, they will surrender.”  
  
Whetu cracked her knuckles and drew her crystal sword.  
  
“Let’s take the town!” She said.  
  
…  
  
The plan of attack was identical to the one Whetu and her company used against the Snowskins back at Candon. The Toa and huntresses waited until the sun went down, then began to move under the cover of night. Levakians encircled the perimeter of the village, Toa lurked in the shadows of tall shrubs and trees.  
  
They waited all night, until the early morning hours. This was when the response time of any possible defender would be slowest. Whetu had also chosen to attack at dawn because the rising sun would appear behind her own warriors, masking the true size of their force. Just as long shadows began to creep along the ground and the sky above turned pink, a small number men, women, and children left the safety of their homes and filtered out into the farm fields, intending to continue the rice harvest.  
  
Hysperia was the first to move. A pair of men carrying farm equipment were chatting to one another in the Snowskin language as they walked past the tall reeds where the lioness was hiding. The first thing they heard was a low snarl, and then a pained scream rent the air!  
  
“Go!” Whetu shouted. “Do it now!”  
  
Toa and huntresses emerged from cover and set upon the farmers in an eruption of violence! Hysperia downed one of the larger Snowskin men while his companion was brought down by Toa Ihu and Toa Enoka. Villagers screamed and dropped their tools in fright. Just as Tashiro predicted, only three Snowskins were killed before the rest of the villagers fell to their knees and surrendered, pleading for their lives. Children clung to their mothers, crying; men who had survived the initial onslaught raised their hands over their heads.  
  
Whetu, King Jira, and the Rangatiri shouted for peace, calling off their warriors and ordered the killing to stop. By the time the army was halted, seven Snowskin men lay dead in the mud, and the village of about two-hundred-fifty people simply surrendered outright. Every single Snowskin who lived in the village was forced to gather in the square, while Partogan and Levakian soldiers moved to secure the farm fields and any stockpiles of food that might be lying around.  
  
As she entered the village, Whetu couldn’t help but be shocked at the sight of the place. The Snowskins lived in large buildings made from wood and stone that had angled roofs and more than three rooms. Strange symbols adorned banners and walls, but that wasn’t all that was odd.  
  
The Snowskin people themselves wore unusual clothes that covered their whole bodies, save their face and arms. Many a bare-chested Partogan poked and prodded at the Snowskin villagers, trying to figure out why someone would hide their tattoos like this. Then Toa Taki made a discovery.  
  
“None of these people have tattoos!” she exclaimed. “Not even their elders!”  
  
“That doesn’t make any sense at all.” Toa Makani replied. “How do you tell the elders from the laymen around here?”  
  
“Leave that to me.” Tashiro said.  
  
The half-Snowskin man approached the crowd of villagers and spoke to them in their own language. Many of the Snowskins were alarmed that a Partogan was using their own words. Others were curious. After a few minutes of conversing with several men of the town, Tashiro reported back to Whetu.  
  
“King Inari, ruler of this land, already sent his soldiers here to collect a portion of the harvest.” Tashiro began. “The caravan left two days ago and is moving slowly. These people were expecting the King’s men to come back today, possibly to collect more food.”  
  
Whetu swore, then turned to the gathered Rangatira.  
  
“Search the place.” She ordered. “I want every grain of rice, every fruit, and every piece of meat brought out here now.”  
  
Tashiro looked back and forth between Whetu and the Snowskin villagers.  
  
“What about them?” He asked.  
  
Whetu’s father had the answer.  
  
“I don’t know about Snowskins, but our people have strict rules of war. Tapus which must be obeyed. These people yielded to us after only a few were killed. It was the honorable thing to do.”  
  
“Agreed.” Said one of the Rangatira. “Tohunga Nixie, would you say that our Mana has been restored?”  
  
Whetu’s sister folded her arms and scowled in deep thought. For the Partogans, there was a deeply spiritual side to warfare. The term “Mana” roughly refers to the overall prestige of a family or tribe, and it could be gained or lost in battle. While she waited for her sister to pass a judgement, Whetu looked back at the Snowskin villagers. These people were tired, hungry, and more than ready to accept that they were beaten. Some of them had spotted Whetu’s crystal sword and assumed she was a leader of some kind. When Whetu gazed down on these Snowskins, they refused to look her in the eye and kept their heads bowed.  
  
Finally, Tohunga Nixie made her pronouncement.  
  
“In stealing food from our lands and threatening our people with violence, the Snowskins have committed a great offense.” The Tohunga said. “But the men of this village yielded to us after only a few of their own were killed.”  
  
Nixie faced Whetu.  
  
“I recommend we strip the village of whatever food is left, and if there is not enough to sustain Candon, we should enslave some of the women and children to work off the difference. Of course, you’re the Queen, so you get the final say.”  
  
“I like that idea.” Whetu said. “Let’s make it happen. I’ll talk to Anathi and Quaxo about looting the village.”  
  
Then Whetu turned to Tashiro.  
  
“For starters, pick fifteen of those Snowskin women to go with us. Make sure they’re strong enough to work, then send them to my father’s Hapu.”  
  
While Tashiro started pulling women out of the crowd, Whetu left the village square to oversee the ransacking of the town. Partogans and Levakians alike were breaking into every building and coming out with whatever edibles they could find. Quaxo was sitting outside of a strangely-shaped gate that marked the entrance to some kind of temple. The structure itself was quickly being turned out and ruined by the conquering army.  
  
“This is just a simple village.” Quaxo admitted. “There won’t be enough food here to sustain the army for three days, let alone all of Candon. We’ll have to drive deeper into Snowskin territory.”  
  
“You get all that from reading minds?” she asked.  
  
The white lion nodded.  
  
“That and something else. They appear to be waiting for something.”  
  
“Waiting?”  
  
Quaxo furrowed his brow.  
  
“Many of the people here have the same thoughts running through their minds.” He said. “They are convinced that some kind of help is on the way. But what? I do not know.”  
  
Whetu felt her blood turn cold. Help? That could only mean one thing. Those warriors who had frightened Whetu and her friends not so long ago.  
  
Running full-tilt, Whetu quickly made her way back to the square, just in time to see several members of the Ranginui Hapu leading away a group of Snowskin women. Their hands and feet were tied, and the Ranginui Toa were poking and prodding the women with their weapons, laughing and jeering the whole time.  
  
Whetu stood by the side of the road and allowed the slavers to pass with their trophies, but she also opened her mind and tried to listen. She pushed her way past the thoughts of Levakians who were still experiencing the thrill of victory. She ignored the graphic sexual fantasies of the slavers, and filtered out the noise of camp followers planning out tonight’s meal. Focusing with all her might, Whetu brought her full and complete attention on the minds of the fifteen enslaved Snowskins. In their minds, Whetu found only one emotion:  
  
 _Hope._  
  
It wasn’t the word itself. Whetu still didn’t understand the Snowskin language, but she could understand feelings and emotions. She could see, beyond any possible doubt, that the villagers were holding onto hope of rescue. There was a sense of expectation in the back of their minds, as though they were convinced that fortune was about to stop showing favor to the Partogans and Levakians.  
  
Amidst all of these feelings, Whetu found something else… one of the women had a buildup of motherly affection in her soul, accompanied by a sense of relief. Whetu probed even further into the woman’s mind, and found a memory…  
  
 _A young boy running down the road at sunrise, the sound of screams behind him…_  
  
Whetu felt a wave of terror rising within her. A Snowskin had escaped! He had gone for help, and by now, he had probably found it!  
  
“Jira!” Whetu shouted as she began to run, “Father! Toa Makani! Anathi! Demeter!”  
  
Whetu cried out for her friends, and before she’d gone more than a few paces, she ran headlong into Toa Mira! Whetu had no idea where her companion had come from, but was nonetheless happy to see her.  
  
“What is it?” Toa Mira started to say, but Whetu cut her off.  
  
“Snowskin warriors are coming!” Whetu said quickly. “I need you to spread the word! Tell everyone to reform the Hapus and get ready for battle!”  
  
Toa Mira nodded, and began walking down the road towards a Levakian hunting party, moving at the painfully slow speed Whetu really didn’t have time for today.  
  
“Can’t you move any faster than a snail’s pace?” Whetu griped, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers.  
  
When Whetu opened her eyes, Toa Mira had travelled the length of the entire village and caught up with the distant Levakians.  
  
“Wha-? How does she do that?” Whetu said aloud, then she ran the other way, determined to raise the alarm!  
  
…  
  
It was chaos in the village. The Rangatira and Levakian Kings had already allowed their warriors to begin looting the place. Food and valuables were being added to the army’s stockpile, while a second group of Snowskin women and children had been tied up and taken away by another Hapu. In the midst of the sacking, Whetu found King Jira and his daughter, Demeter.  
  
“We’ve got to reform the army!” Whetu gasped, panting. “Snowskin warriors are coming!”  
  
Both lions looked alarmed.  
  
“Daughter, take your huntresses and stall them!” Jira ordered. “I will stay and coordinate with the Rangatira!”  
  
“I’m going with you!” Whetu said.  
  
Demeter nodded before lowering herself.  
  
“On my back, Queen. Your two legs aren’t fast enough to keep up with me!”  
  
Clutching onto Demeter, Whetu seemed to fly through the streets, screaming for all Partogans and Levakians to hear:  
  
“The Snowskins are coming! The Snowskins are coming! All Hapus form up!”  
  
Along the way out of town, several members of the Queen’s company joined Whetu and Demeter. Toa Taki and her brother, along with a few of his comrades. Tashiro did his best to keep up with the lions on foot. Toa Kai Ranginui also managed to bring along several members of the Ranginui Hapu, while Anathi and Quaxo brought some thirty lions with them. All told, Whetu was joined by about fifty fighters. Together, they followed the road out of town, leading in the direction King Inari’s soldiers had gone.  
  
A short distance away, the road snaked in between a pair of rocky hills and vanished from view as it followed a curve in the river’s path. Standing atop this hill were six men. They wore leather armor that covered their entire bodies and carried shining silver swords. One man, clearly the leader, wore an ornate helmet trimmed with some shiny materiel. As Whetu and her fighters approached, the leader of this group raised his sword into the air and began to speak in the Snowskin language. Tashiro quickly translated:  
  
“He says he is the Lord Tokugawa, younger brother of the great King Inari. He claims to have once pulled an enemy’s arrow from his own arm and used it to slay that self-same foe. He says he killed two Levakians last year and that he will do the same to us if we do not leave the village, which is his property.”  
  
“He’s got to be kidding.” Toa Taki said. “There’s six of them and fifty of us. He’s in no position to make demands.”  
  
“The Tamihana Toa is right.” Quaxo confirmed. “His memories reveal he left the majority of his force behind; he chose to investigate the news of an attack on the village personally. The men who surround him are… four bodyguards and an assassin.”  
  
“No match for a Toa!” Shouted Toa Makani.  
  
Meanwhile, the Snowskins were still talking. Each man projected his voice loudly and tried to talk over Whetu and her companions, despite being a considerable distance away. According to Tashiro, “Samurai warfare” involved its own rituals and traditions. Given the opportunity, all six of these combatants would introduce themselves and make some kind of verbal threat. It was a ploy to intimidate the Partogans and Levakians. Whetu had her response ready. On her command, Toa Makani let out a long, loud war cry before smacking his own chest rhythmically.  
  
The Partogan fighters came together and began to sing a loud Haka, drowning out the six Snowskin warriors. Meanwhile, Demeter and her fellow Levakians began to fan out and move towards the enemy. Hysperia arched her back, bared her teeth, and let out a nightmarish snarling noise. Whetu joined in the Haka. She stuck out her tongue at Lord Tokugawa and sang the Maori warrior song; which ended with the most iconic, infamous, and most serious threat a Maori Toa can ever deliver:  
  
 _“We will kill you and eat you!”_  
  
Whetu, still reaching into his mind, witnessed the exact moment Lord Tokugawa lost patience with this display. His intentions, emotions, and impulses gave away what he was going to do next, and Whetu beat him to the punch!  
  
“Kill them all!” She screamed!  
  
Demeter, Hypseria, Quaxo, Anathi, and the Levakians surged forward! The Partogans charged, and the Snowskins launched themselves into the fray. Whetu drew her shark-bone spear and sprinted towards the enemy, keeping abreast with Tashiro and Toa Makani.  
  
Lord Tokugawa locked eyes with the first Levakian to reach him and swung his own sword. The blade gleamed in the midday sunlight before filling the air with blood spatter. One, two, three Levakians hit the ground as all six Snowskins started cutting and hacking and slicing away at their attackers!  
  
Amidst the chaotic melee, a veritable wall of bodies soon piled up in front of the Snowskins. The Levakians couldn’t get close without exposing their heads to the Snowskin’s blades. Toa Makani tried to bludgeon one of the Snowskins with his spear, but the enemy warrior swung his sword down and broke the spear in half!  
  
“Surround them!” Whetu yelled. “Get on all sides, we have to overwhelm them!”  
  
If anyone was listening to Whetu’s orders, they didn’t show it. Everybody was so eager to bring the fight to the enemy that they just charged straight in, but there were six Snowskins to some forty attackers. A bizarre back-and-forth began as seven or eight people attacked at a time before being driven back, allowing another group to take their place.  
  
Not only did the Snowskins have superior weapons, their protective armor meant that it took far much more effort than normal to inflict any kind of harm. Wood and bone spears struggled to penetrate, and Toa Makani’s club simply bounced off the Snowskin’s bodies.  
  
“Aim high!” Toa Makani shouted to his comrades, “Aim for the head!”  
  
Whetu tried to follow Toa Ihu in a frontal attack on the Snowskin Quaxo had identified as an assassin, but the enemy moved with the speed and ferocity of a Levakian! The Snowskin slashed his sword down and the blade connected with Toa Ihu’s arm! He fell back, grasping his maimed limb and howling with pain! Blood splashed through the air and painted Whetu’s face with dark red circles. She shrieked to her comrades,  
  
“Will you stop coming at them from the front and just get behind them, please!”  
  
Above the shouting and yelling, Toa Enoka, Toa Taki, and Toa Mira heard Whetu’s orders and took action. Two of the Snowskins spotted them moving and tried to follow, but Demeter drew their attention with a swipe of her paw, claws stained with the blood of some unlucky fighter.  
  
Whetu and her three friends scrambled around the perimeter of the fight until they were a short distance behind Lord Tokugawa. He was busy fighting Tashiro. The half-Snowskin ally of the Partogans was throwing out insults in Tokugawa’s language, which seemed to enrage the Snowskin leader even more. He was so focused on trying to hit Tashiro that he never noticed when Whetu shouted;  
  
“Now!”  
  
Whetu, Toa Taki, Toa Mira, and Toa Enoka descended upon Lord Tokugawa as one, battering him with clubs and spears! Once more, their weapons seemed to have no effect on his leather armor. The Snowskin turned around, looked at Whetu, then at her crystal sword. Something in Lord Tokugawa seemed to change. A hard-to-read expression came over his face he pointed towards Whetu with one hand, and a deep voice spoke inside the very core of Whetu’s mind!  
  
 _“Your nightmare is just starting. You are going to die.”_  
  
It was the most terrifying voice Whetu had ever heard! It was the voice of a demon, of Whiro! She was frightened beyond all possible reason, her sweat was cold, her heart fluttering like a bird! Horrifying images flickered through the forefront of Whetu’s consciousness. She saw herself being caged and beaten, then murdered and fed to wild animals!  
  
Perhaps by instinct or reflex, Whetu dropped her spear, reached down to her belt, and grabbed the handle of her crystal sword. Instantly, all of the frightful images and sounds stopped! She was back on the battlefield, the fear and terror were gone, and Lord Tokugawa had dropped his own sword, grabbing the sides of his head with both hands and screaming!  
  
Whetu didn’t hesitate, she knew he had just used some kind of dark magic on her, and Whetu had no plans to give Tokugawa the chance to do it again! Whetu swung her crystal sword with all her might! It connected with the side of the Snowskin’s head at high speed, sending blood flying all over the place with a sickening _crack!_  
  
Whetu lost her balance, the crystal sword soared out of her hands and she tumbled to the ground! Curling up in the fetal position, Whetu felt bodies fall around her and shielded herself from the final moments of the battle. Finally, there was an eruption of yelling followed by Toa Enoka’s voice:  
  
“After him, quick! Before he gets to the other side of the river!”  
  
Whetu looked up. Around her were five dead Snowskins, over a dozen dead Levakians, and seven dead Partogans. Some distance away the final Snowskin, the assassin, had crossed the river and was retreating into a grove of trees. Hysperia, covered in blood, was leading a group of huntresses and Toa in pursuit. Toa Makani helped Whetu back to her feet.  
  
“Are you alright?” He asked. “I saw… whatever that was. What happened?”  
  
Whetu and her companions looked down at the crystal sword lying in the grass. The green core of the blade seemed to be glowing faintly, like the embers of a dying fire.  
  
…  
  
It wasn’t until nightfall that the full extent of what happened became clear. Out of the fifty Partogans and Levakians who attacked the Snowskin lord and his escort, Twenty-two were dead and a further twelve were seriously injured. One Snowskin had escaped while the other five were slain.  
  
Toa Ihu and the other injured were seen to by the camp followers. While he wasn’t going to die, Toa Makani’s friend was told that he would need to rest for some time before using his arm again. Similar warnings were issued to everyone whose flesh had been cleaved by metal blades.  
  
The Partogans and Levakians who lost their lives were cremated following a religious ceremony led by Tohunga Nixie. The bodies of Lord Tokugawa and his allies were stripped of their weapons and armor and also… _disposed of…_ in a way that fulfilled the Hapu’s earlier threat. But their equipment would have a different fate.  
  
Whetu had seen how the Snowskin’s armor and weapons served them in battle. She made a point of taking them for her own. Following some furious sewing and alterations by some of the camp follower women, Whetu took Lord Tokugawa’s armor for herself. It was the first time in her life Whetu wore any kind of clothing that covered her entire body and it felt quite strange. Tohunga Nixie, Anathi, and Toa Mira solved this problem by fashioning a new cloak for Whetu to wear overtop of her leather armor.  
  
“There.” Toa Mira said. “Now you look like a Queen.”  
  
Toa Mira, Toa Taki, Toa Enoka, and Tashiro all got to take the remaining Snowskin armor and weapons for themselves. They each replaced their weapons with a Snowskin sword as well, which finally led to this conversation:  
  
“So, I think its obvious that the enemy leader tried to use magic against you, sister.” Tohunga Nixie said. “But why did it fail? I’ve never seen a bewitching broken as easily as that.”  
  
“I’ve been thinking about that.” Whetu said. “I think it’s got something to do with this sword. Everything went away and I felt so much better when I held it.”  
  
Whetu drew her crystal sword and showed it to her comrades. While they inspected the blade, Whetu tried to use her own magic to read their mental reactions, but something strange happened. No matter how hard she tried, Whetu couldn’t read anybody’s minds. There was nothing but silence. Assuming that all of their minds had gone blank with awe, Whetu returned the sword to her belt and let go of it.  
  
 _Fascinating._ Quaxo thought to himself. _A weapon that can strike at the soul. That will be very useful._  
  
Whetu was so alarmed that she jumped a little. How come she could hear people’s thoughts now and not before? Quaxo and Toa Mira gave Whetu curious looks.  
  
“Something wrong?” Toa Mira asked.  
  
“I… uh… I think I’ve got a lot more to learn about this magic than I first thought.” Whetu admitted.  
  
“Yeah, welcome to the club.” Toa Taki chuckled.


	8. Secret Meetings in the Dead of Night

When the army moved out again, it was with a newfound sense of caution. Everybody knew that six Snowskins could fight like fifty Toa, and that their weapons and armor were not to be underestimated. Camp followers and slaves were quickly put to work creating new leather armor for the Toa to wear. Levakian huntresses fanned out into the wilderness and brought back large game animals to supply the hide. Kane-Ra bulls, Dipaki birds, Kavinika dogs, and other big beasts were put to use as both food and leather supplies. None of the bodies would go to waste.  
  
Meanwhile, the Fire Goddess’ light continued to draw Whetu and her army towards the distant mountain. As they drew nearer to its base, the sheer size and scale of the mountain became clear, as did something else…  
  
“Look up there!” Toa Tangaroa Aranui called out one afternoon, “The top of the mountain’s been destroyed!”  
  
The midday sunlight had burned away most of the clouds, allowing Whetu and her companions to have a clear view of the distant summit… or what was left of it. As Toa Tangaroa said, the top of the mountain appeared to have been obliterated by some massive force. Smoke and dust billowed away from the summit, filling the sky with dark clouds.  
  
“It’s like the gods took the summit in their hands and pulled it away.” Tohunga Nixie mused. “Rūaumoko must have been here.”  
  
Rūaumoko is the name of a god who rules over volcanoes. Whetu and her friends looked at one another nervously, then back at the strange mountain.  
  
“No way.” Toa Taki gasped. “Volcanoes don’t get that big, and they don’t happen so far inland. They happen at sea, on islands.”  
  
“Yet here we are.” Tohunga Nixie replied. “Staring at an impossible volcano, far from the ocean. Why the gods placed it here is beyond me.”  
  
“Perhaps we’ll find out.” Whetu added. “Because that’s Mahuika’s light over there.”  
  
Flickering and winking on the horizon, that same point of yellow light Whetu had been following since day one was faintly visible at the base of the mountain, on its northern side. The terrain began to change again as Whetu’s army pressed on towards the light, giving way to a wide-open grassy steppe.  
  
Demeter let out a cheer when she saw the terrain ahead.  
  
“Flat ground, tall grass… if only there were water holes, then this would be the perfect hunting ground for lions!”  
  
This sentiment gave Whetu an idea. She ordered Demeter, Hysperia, King Jira, and Anathi to take as many lions as they could out into the steppe and seek out sources of water. While they were gone, Whetu, Quaxo, and Toa Mira continued their experiments with the crystal sword. Ever since that fight by the river, the trio had taken a much stronger interest in the strange weapon. It had done something during the battle that defied most explanations and Whetu needed to know why.  
  
“Look at the blade.” Whetu said, holding the sword up for her companions to see. “Was the core glowing like that before?”  
  
Toa Mira raised one arm so that her shadow fell on the sword.  
  
“No, it definitely wasn’t.” She replied. “It must have started doing that after the Tokugawa man tried to bewitch you.”  
  
“This is clearly the reason his spell broke.” Quaxo said. “This weapon must have some kind of protective enchantment. It must keep the holder safe.”  
  
“Any idea how we can prove that?” Whetu asked. “I wouldn’t mind having an anti-magic shield.”  
  
“I have an idea.” Quaxo admitted. “Come this way.”  
  
Quaxo, Toa Mira, and Whetu jogged up a nearby hill where the Partogan-Levakian army could continue passing by without disturbing them. Quaxo sat down on his haunches and stared intensely at Toa Mira.  
  
“Here is how we shall test the sword.” Quaxo explained. “I will attempt to bewitch your friend twice. Once when she is unarmed and once when she is holding the sword. If it works the way we think it does, I should succeed once and fail once.”  
  
Then Quaxo stared directly into Toa Mira’s eyes. Whetu, standing only a short distance away, felt a powerful rushing sensation as though a great wind was rushing between her companions. Then Quaxo said aloud:  
  
“Do as I say, Toa Mira.”  
  
He rattled off a list of commands. Without hesitation, protest, or question, Toa Mira ran two laps around the hilltop, patted her head, rubbed her belly, and sang a children’s song. Then she did all four acts at the same time. When Quaxo lifted the enchantment, Toa Mira collapsed to the ground, panting.  
  
“With the right focus and practice, any mind can be bent to another’s will.” Quaxo told Whetu. “You may learn how to control minds before too long. Now then, onto the moment of truth. Please give the sword to her.”  
  
Whetu helped Mira to her feet and then handed over the crystal sword. Quaxo stood up and focused his powers on her again… and this time, something happened.  
  
In fact, it all happened so quickly that Whetu almost didn’t have time to react. The air between Toa Mira and Quaxo seemed to shimmer and crackle, like a bolt of lightning had tried and failed to cross the distance between them. Quaxo gasped and staggered backwards! Toa Mira dropped the sword to the ground and raced over to him, asking;  
  
“Are you alright?”  
  
Quaxo coughed and fell onto his belly, rubbing his head with both paws.  
  
“The pain,” he said. “It’s almost blinding, it’s so incredible. So, this must be what happened.”  
  
Whetu and Toa Mira helped Quaxo back to his feet. He looked down on the crystal sword with newfound respect.  
  
“It is fashioned and shaped after a weapon that is designed to kill.” Quaxo pronounced. “Therein lies the deception. This, my Queen, is no offensive weapon at all. It is meant to be a shield as we thought. I felt my own energies bouncing off your friend and returning to me. This sword will protect its wielder from magic. It guards the soul.”  
  
Whetu picked up the crystal sword and examined it again. The core running down the center of the blade had started to glow again, emitting a faint blue light. After thinking for a moment, she decided to give the enchanted blade an appropriate name.  
  
“Soulkeeper.”  
  
…  
  
The next morning brought good news.  
  
Demeter and Hysperia had found a large host of Snowskin warriors in the steppe. Upon further scouting, Anathi concluded that it was two caravans travelling together.  
  
“One of them departed the village where we fought Tokugawa and his men. The other appears to be the wagon train you missed in the outskirts of Candon. Both caravans are escorted by a band of warriors.”  
  
“In a best-case scenario…” Tashiro said. “Those fighters will be conscripts from the farmlands. If our luck has turned sour, they’ll be Samurai.”  
  
As soon as she realized that she’d caught up with the caravans of food, Whetu’s mind turned to action. She ordered a more complete reconnaissance of the enemy, and this time, she would join the scouting force.  
  
About seventy lionesses and a few lions broke away from the main army and scampered into the steppe lands. Whetu was riding on Demeter’s back; fully outfitted in leather armor, her cloak whipped through the air behind her. She gripped her shark-bone spear while the Soulkeeper stayed tucked into her belt.  
  
It took just about an hour to reach the spot where the enemy had been sighted. Whetu dismounted from Demeter’s back, and the lioness said:  
  
“Follow me. I’m going to teach you how to stalk prey like one of us.”  
  
The Snowskin war party and their caravans were between water sources, and they were trying to save energy by moving at a slow pace. This worked against the Snowskins, but they didn’t know this. Following Demeter’s example, Whetu crouched low to the ground, hiding amongst the tall grass. She pulled her cloak over her head so that her shiny silver hair was hidden from view.  
  
Whetu already knew that Levakians were very effective group hunters, but she had never been part of a hunt before. Keeping low and moving as one, the lionesses covered a short distance before they halted and laid down, pressing their bodies to the ground and holding still. Whetu made sure to follow and copy their movements as closely as possible.  
  
“Don’t move.” Demeter said in a low growl. “We must be silent and invisible for as long as possible.”  
  
Whetu hid herself beneath a large shrub, making sure to keep her spear underneath her body. She spent so much time in silence, that Whetu couldn’t help but wonder how long it took Levakians to perfect their hunting methods. Finally, after stalking the Snowskins for nearly two hours, Demeter, Whetu, and the rest of the Levakian hunting party had drawn dangerously close to the Snowskins without being detected. In fact, the Snowskin caravans and war party were completely encircled on all sides. So complete was the Levakian’s positioning that the enemy had no idea of the predicament they were in. Whetu was close enough that she could hear conversations and plainly see the finer details on the enemy’s faces and clothing. No one made any moves to strike or attack, though. Per Whetu’s instructions, this was a fact-finding and reconnaissance mission, nothing more.  
  
Hidden beneath a large bramble of grass and shrubbery, Whetu was certain she had made herself invisible, but her new skills were about to be put to the ultimate test. Two Snowskin warriors (“samurai” was what Tashiro had called them) were patrolling along the route of the caravan. Out of the corner of her eye, Whetu realized that if these two men continued in the direction they were going, they might very well step on her.  
  
Whetu weighed her options as they drew nearer. This was supposed to be a scouting mission! If she attacked these fighters, she’d give away the hunting party and trigger a battle her Levakian friends weren’t ready for. Thinking fast, Whetu wondered if there was any possible way she could quickly kill these two men before they spotted her. No, she realized she would need help from a couple of lionesses, and that would eliminate any element of stealth from the equation.  
  
The Snowskins were just a few strides away now. They were talking to one another, but Whetu couldn’t understand their language. One of them, armed with a long spear, started casually looking around as though the hoped to find something interesting on the ground. Whetu pressed one hand to her heart and whispered a silent prayer to the Goddess Ārohirohi:  
  
“Don’t let them see me. Don’t let them see me. Make me invisible, please.”  
  
The Snowskins were three paces away. Two…  
  
One of the Samurai drew level with Whetu’s position. His eyes raked the shrubbery beneath his feet, and his gaze passed directly over Whetu’s hiding spot. For the shortest of moments, it seemed as though he was staring into Whetu’s face!  
  
 _I’m not here._ Whetu thought to herself. _You can’t see me. You can’t hear me. Keep moving._  
  
Whetu held her breath, and she could feel her frantic heartbeat thundering against her ribcage. The Snowskin did not pause. He didn’t even say or do anything to acknowledge Whetu’s presence. He just moved on and continued his conversation.  
  
Whetu’s heart didn’t slow down until the entire Snowskin caravan had passed by and crossed over the next hill.  
  
…  
  
Once the enemy was gone, Whetu reunited with the Levakians and everyone shared what they had learned. There were twenty wagons in the combined caravan, loaded down with food from the riverside village and the Candon outskirts. Unlike the village, there was enough food here to sustain Candon through the winter and until the next harvest. If Whetu’s army could take the caravan, their journey would come to an end, and they could return home to Candon.  
  
There was one big problem, though.  
  
The caravan was under the protection of approximately one-hundred Samurai. Not the untrained conscripts Tashiro had hoped for, but trained and professional warriors. Six Samurai had already stopped half a Hapu cold. Whetu knew that if her army of two thousand went toe-to-toe against a Hapu’s worth of Samurai, it would be a bloodbath of unimaginable proportions, a battle that her side stood a decent chance of losing.  
  
That night, Whetu ordered the army to make camp about two-hour’s distance away from where the Snowskins had pitched their own tents. As the sun went down, Whetu ordered the Queen’s Company to gather around her personal campfire. Decisions needed to be made.  
  
Toa Enoka, Kai, Makira, Ihu, and Tashiro all spoke in favor of an early morning raid.  
  
“We know it takes time for the Snowskins to put on their armor and assemble for battle.” Toa Kai Ranginui said. “We should strike when their reaction time is slowest.”  
  
Toa Mira, King Jira, Demeter, and Tohunga Nixie promoted a siege-like approach.  
  
“We should position our army between the enemy and the nearest water hole.” King Jira argued. “If we cause them to starve, then we won’t have to fight at all!”  
  
The strategy meeting carried on well into the night as everyone argued and debated the best way to handle the threat. Just when Whetu felt like she might lose her voice from trying to talk Toa Enoka out of a frontal assault for the umpteenth time, a young lion approached from the shadows and asked for the group’s attention.  
  
“Excuse me, great Queen.” He said. “We need to borrow Tashiro Kopunui. The sentries captured a Snowskin trying to enter our camp. We think he was trying to surrender.”  
  
Whetu was so shocked by this news that she nearly fell over in her haste to follow the young lion. Tashiro, Toa Taki, Toa Mira, Tohunga Nixie, and Quaxo followed behind her.  
  
…  
  
Sure enough, just outside of the main camp, a mixed group of Partogans and Levakians were gathered around a Snowskin man. He was kneeling on the ground while two Toa rifled through the pockets of his outfit.  
  
“He carries no weapons.” Said a Patariki Toa. “No armor, and no food.”  
  
“Stand back!” Tashiro told the group. “Let me speak to him!”  
  
Tashiro made his way towards the prisoner and started to speak to him in the Snowskin language. Meanwhile, Toa Mira grabbed Whetu by the shoulder and said:  
  
“Does that man look familiar? Have we seen him before?”  
  
Whetu stared hard at the man. His face did seem familiar. Whetu leaned over and whispered to Toa Taki.  
  
“Hey, isn’t that Koji? Didn’t we fight him at the river a few days back?” Whetu asked.  
  
Toa Taki let out a gasp as she realized the truth.  
  
“It is Koji!” She exclaimed. “What’s he doing here? He’s lucky nobody killed him on the way in!”  
  
Tashiro stood up and addressed Whetu.  
  
“Your highness, this is the same man who fought alongside Lord Tokugawa a few days ago. He tells me that since the death of the King’s brother, there has been nothing short of a political firestorm in the Nihongo Kingdom. Koji’s new master, the Samurai lord Naruhiko, has been trading insults with King Inari, and he is not alone in speaking out against the King. Koji tells me that he desires to see the lord humiliated or killed, and is willing to betray Naruhiko and his men to us to see it happen. Koji has promised to show us how to cut off Naruhiko and his troops from the nearby water hole, guaranteeing you and your army a victory in tomorrow’s battle.”  
  
Whetu felt a powerful urge to immediately accept Koji’s sudden change of sides at face value, but a nagging sense of caution in the back of her mind caused her to say:  
  
“A moment please.”  
  
Then she gathered up nearby members of the Queen’s Company in a huddle.  
  
“Quaxo, Toa Mira, you think he’s telling the truth?” Whetu asked.  
  
Both Quaxo and Toa Mira looked over Whetu’s shoulder at Koji, who was being restrained by two Tamihana Toa. They narrowed their eyes at him for a moment and then Quaxo said:  
  
“When the mind is lying, it behaves differently than when it tells the truth. I’m not sensing any deceitful behavior in his mind now.”  
  
“I agree.” Toa Mira said. “Although I am not as well-practiced as Quaxo, I fail to find any lies in Koji’s words.”  
  
“Alright.” Whetu said. “I want you to spread the word to all Toa and huntresses. We’re going to move against the Snowskins before first light tomorrow.”  
  
…  
  
While the members of her company roused the army and made preparations for the next day’s battle, Whetu found she wasn’t quite done with Koji. She pulled aside Tashiro and Koji for a much more private meeting in the darkness, far from the prying eyes and ears of the army.  
  
Speaking through Tashiro, Whetu asked her own questions.  
  
“Who are you?” She demanded.  
  
“I am called Koji by my masters.” Koji replied through Tashiro. “I was the sworn sword of the Lord Tokugawa until you put an end to him.”  
  
“What’s all this about people speaking against your King?” Whetu asked.  
  
“That’s a little more complicated.” Tashiro said as Koji’s reply came quickly. “There was no King before Inari. Instead, the Samurai lords fought amongst each other for the title of Shogun, which is a relic from the Lost Age. Inari vanquished all of his foes, seized control, and abolished the Shogunate whilst declaring himself King. He rules through sheer force alone, and your defeat of his brother has made the King appear weak and vulnerable. Many see this as the opportunity to replace Inari with themselves.”  
  
Koji tacked something on to the end of his explanation and then folded his arms with a prideful expression on his face. Tashiro gave Koji a frustrated look before adding:  
  
“Koji says he is still loyal to Inari, and he hopes you will give the disloyal lord Naruhiko the death he deserves.”  
  
Whetu swore.  
  
“Of course we’re being used.” She said. “Why didn’t we see this coming?”  
  
“Should I call off the attack?” Tashiro asked. “Recall the troops?”  
  
“No.” Whetu sighed. “We’re committed at this point. We’ll just have to deal with the situation as it comes.”  
  
…  
  
Very early the next morning, the casual observer would have seen almost every campfire in the Partogan-Levakian base being extinguished a few hours before dawn. That observer would be forgiven for thinking that most of the soldiers were simply going to sleep.  
  
Under cover of darkness, nearly two thousand heavily armed Partogans and Levakians began to sneak towards the west, following the directions given by the traitor Koji. Out there in the rolling plains to the northeast of the Unnamed Mountain, there were many pools, ponds, and other small bodies of water where an army could find something to drink. But by the time the sun slowly started to rise over the steppe, the first few Snowskins who had been dispatched to gather water had already been caught and killed at the closest water hole. Panicked messengers ran back to the Samurai escorts to raise the alarm.  
  
One by one, the enemy discovered that hostile Partogans had positioned themselves between the caravan and all of the nearest water holes, whist Levakian huntresses prowled the tall grass, cutting off all but one avenue of escape. There was a narrow span of low ground between two hills that the Partogans seemingly left unguarded. On the far side was a large lake. The lake was so big, in fact, that if one was to stand on its shoreline, they would not be able to see the other side.  
  
Once the sun had fully risen into the sky, Whetu could see from her vantage point atop on of the supposedly undefended hills that the enemy had taken the bait and was now on the move. Hysperia, with Toa Taki on her back, loped into view from the grasslands below.  
  
“The caravan is coming towards the pass!” Toa Taki reported. “They’ll be here soon.”  
  
“Good.” Whetu said. “Pass the word to all Rangatira, it’s time to pull the drawstring. Close the loop!”  
  
Watching from on high, Whetu felt a great deal of satisfaction as the trap was sprung. The first Samurai scouts had barely begun flitting through the pass when Partogan and Levakian fighters revealed themselves on the surrounding hilltops. King Jira roared loudly to signal his Levakian comrades, while Tohunga Nixie and Toa Enoka sang a loud Haka to rally the Partogans. Whetu’s army now had the Snowskin caravan encircled while it was stuck halfway through a narrow pass. But before the fighting could begin, there was one more surprise to be had.  
  
A number of Samurai pointed their fingers in Whetu’s general direction and began shouting in a panicked voice:  
  
 _“Doragon! Mukō o mite! Doragon!”_  
  
Whetu confidently twirled her spear in one hand and said to Tashiro:  
  
“Let me guess, they’re scared of me?”  
  
“Oh, they’re scared alright.” Tashiro confirmed. “Just not of _you._ ”  
  
Then, a noise began to drown out the cheering and yelling and singing of soldiers. It was like the sound a powerful wind makes, except that the air was calm. Whetu turned around and craned her neck, looking for the source of the sound.  
  
“Look up! There's a dragon!” Tashiro shouted.  
  
And then, she saw it.  
  
A huge… _thing…_ was flying through the air! Higher than any bird, higher up than even the summit of the Unnamed Mountain! A trail of white clouds formed behind the flying object, cutting a white line through the clear blue skies. The thing itself looked like a silver bird with its wings outstretched. It crossed the skies faster than even the speediest of sparrows, then pointed itself downwards and dove towards a spot on the northwest horizon. It seemed to vanish into, or perhaps behind, the flickering beacon of Mahuika’s light!  
  
 _“Shirubādoragon!”_ A Snowskin warrior shouted. _“Watashitachi wa nigenakereba narimasen!”_  
  
And just like that, the Snowskin warriors broke ranks and started to flee. It was a rout!  
  
“They’re running!” Whetu yelled. “Everybody charge! We can’t let that caravan get away!”  
  
And the Partogan-Levakian army moved forward as one, closing their lethal encirclement of the Snowskin caravan.


	9. Treacherous Betrayal in the Early Morning

All too quickly, the killing began.  
  
King Jira, Quaxo, Anathi, Demeter, Hysperia, and the Levakian hunters reached the enemy first and set upon them with claws and teeth. Samurai warriors, realizing that they couldn’t run away fast enough, turned to fight. Quaxo’s eyes seemed to light up as he unleashed the full extent of his powers on the Snowskins. Several men flew into a panic, dropping their swords and either falling to the ground or attempting to flee once more, screaming in terror. Other warriors turned and began to attack their own comrades. Confused Samurai raised their swords to defend themselves against men who, up until a few seconds ago, had been their comrades.  
  
In the midst of all this, the Levakians reveled in the chaos. Any Samurai who strayed or fled too far from the group was stalked and ambushed by groups of lionesses, camouflaged perfectly in the tall steppe grasses. Those who stayed together found themselves encircled as whole prides moved to surround them. All thought of protecting the caravan was lost as the Samurai began to appreciate just how badly outnumbered and outmaneuvered they were.  
  
Meanwhile, the Partogans had overrun the caravan. Wagon drivers desperately whipped their bulls even harder, but it was no use. The pack animals were already starting to panic at the sight of several hundred lions, and by the time any of the wagons built up enough speed to escape, there were already Toa forcing their way into the driver’s positions.  
  
The Snowskins may have been outnumbered, but they were not defenseless. Swords began to glitter in the cold morning light as they slashed through the air, and soon the battlefield was filled with screaming! Partogans and Levakians, unarmored and exposed, fell to a single strike; while each Snowskin, with his leather armor, could only be brought down by a combined effort from many fighters with several weapons. Spears and clubs alike failed to do much until the enemy armor was slashed by Levakian claws. Shark bone staffs were broken as metal blades mashed through them, and bodies quickly piled up all across the steppe.  
  
In the center of the battlefield, Whetu, Toa Taki, and Toa Mira finally brought the wagons to a stop and led the Queen’s Company in a raid on the caravan itself. Frightened Snowskins abandoned their posts and fled, leaving the Toa to grab the reigns and try to bring the bulls to a halt. Dropping her spear on the ground, Whetu moved to help Toa Taki, who was struggling to bring a particularly large beast under control.  
  
The bull snarled and snorted at the women, pounding the ground with its hooves and threatening to capsize the covered wagon hitched to it. Toa Taki tried to clamber onto its back, but was thrown to the ground after just a few seconds of furious bucking. Two Samurai warriors caught up with the pair and made to stab Toa Taki with their swords while she was still on the ground!  
  
“Stop!” Whetu shouted.  
  
She pointed a finger at the enemy exactly as Quaxo had taught her and focused her mind on what she wanted to happen.  
  
It was as though an invisible rope had been tied around both men and suddenly pulled. Both Samurai were pulled off their feet and thrown backwards, away from Toa Taki. Making sure not to brush her hand against the handle of the Soulkeeper sword, Whetu continued using magic against the two Samurai, pushing them further and further away each time they tried to stand up.  
  
Toa Taki got back to her feet, seized both Whetu’s spear and her own, then charged into the fight once more. This time, Whetu forced her way into the minds of both men and cut off their ability to control their own arms. Both men felt their arms and hands go limp, they dropped their swords and a moment later, Taki and several other Toa were on them, beating and stabbing and cutting and bludgeoning.  
  
Over the chaotic noises of battle, Whetu felt a thudding of heavy paws on the ground that told her a Levakian was racing to the scene. Hysperia, her face and paws covered in blood, drew level with the Queen.  
  
“It’s a rout!” Hysperia reported. “The enemy is starting to flee west as a group. Some of the Samurai are leading the retreat, trying to fight past our Toa and huntresses over there.”  
  
Toa Taki pumped her fist in the air and cheered at the news. Whetu was about to do the same when someone else spoke up.  
  
“Wait a minute, did you say west?”  
  
Anathi had arrived, with Toa Mira riding on his back. They both looked alarmed.  
  
“Queen Whetu! The enemy soldier, Koji, has escaped!” Anathi said. “He got away from the guards when they were distracted by the Silver Dragon. He’s heading west, towards Mahuika’s light!”  
  
“The Snowskins are fleeing in the same direction.” Toa Mira said, talking slightly faster than normal.  
  
Whetu felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Hadn’t Koji set all of this up? Didn’t he spin a tale about seeing some Samurai lord defeated? Oh… Oh, no.  
  
“Enemy leaders!” Whetu gasped suddenly. “Has anyone seen any Samurai lords since the fight started?”  
  
Whetu, Toa Taki, Anathi, Hysperia, and Toa Mira all looked around the battlefield frantically. Rank-and-file Snowskin warriors were either fleeing towards the Unnamed Mountain or mounting a desperate rearguard action against the oncoming horde of Partogans and Levakians. None of them were wearing the same type of armor Whetu had taken from Lord Tokugawa. None of them had ornate helmets or bodyguards.  
  
The realization began to dawn over everyone. Whoever was in command of this force _simply wasn’t here_.  
  
“I’m starting to think we’ve been set up.” Anathi growled.  
  
“Looks that way.” Toa Taki replied.  
  
Whetu thought quickly and issued new orders.  
  
“Anathi, Hysperia, take as many Levakians as you need and get out to the west. Find out where the enemy’s trying to run off to and report back. Send Toa Mira back to me with any messages. Trust me, she’s faster than she looks. Taki, stay here hand help me finish this up.”  
  
Anathi and Hysperia nodded and took off. Toa Taki tossed Whetu’s spear back to her and the two went back to securing the wagon train. That was when the other big surprise was discovered. The Kane-Ra bulls pulling the wagons had finally flown into a full-scale panic and were kicking and thrashing desperately against anyone trying to take control of them. One of the bulls burst free from its harness and kicked over one of the covered wagons before staging its escape.  
  
As the wagon keeled over and crashed to the ground, Whetu felt a sense of dread building up in her mind. If these wagons were really loaded down with food, they shouldn’t be so easy to knock over. While Toa Taki ran to get help, Whetu used the Soulkeeper to cut open the fabric and look inside.  
  
“Empty!” Whetu shouted. “This wagon’s empty!”  
  
“No food here.” Toa Taki called out from another wagon. “These things have been cleaned out!”  
  
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Whetu cursed. “They must have known we were coming!”  
  
By now, the battlefield had shifted very far to the west. Dead or dying Snowskins, Partogans, and Levakians were scattered all over the steppe, and the trail of death was now leading towards a hilltop near the western horizon, where the rough terrain began a gentle incline, marking the beginning of the Unnamed Mountain.  
  
“Do we have people over there?” Whetu asked Toa Taki. “Do we know what’s on the other side of that hill?”  
  
Toa Taki swore.  
  
Whetu broke into a run, charging towards her own advancing troops.  
  
“Stop!” She yelled. “Call everyone back, right now! Stop chasing!”  
  
Two Levakians broke off their pursuit of a Samurai and turned around. Demeter and Quaxo both looked alarmed, and a moment later, Toa Enoka raced to join them.  
  
“What’s going on?” Toa Enoka asked. “Why are we stopping?”  
  
“That Koji tricked us! There’s no food in those wagons, and all of the Snowskins are escaping in the same direction!”  
  
Demeter snarled and swished her tail back and forth.  
  
“He set us up!” The lioness declared. “We must be in some kind of trap!”  
  
Quaxo lowered himself and signaled Toa Enoka to climb onto his back.  
  
“We’ll call back as many as we can.” Enoka said. “Stay here, Whetu. We can’t afford to lose you.”  
  
Before Whetu could say anything, Quaxo and Toa Enoka were gone, racing along the hill and shouting out for all Toa and huntresses to retreat. Whetu pointed to the now-stopped wagon train and told Demeter to reform the army nearby.  
  
“We need to be ready for anything they throw at us.”  
  
…  
  
Thundering along the steppe, Anathi and Toa Mira kept pace with the retreating Snowskins. The sun had now passed its zenith and was starting to descend toward the horizon. Cresting the next hill, the lion and woman found themselves alone. The Snowskin survivors slowed to a walk, not just because they had escaped from Whetu’s army, but because their destination was now plainly in sight.  
  
Some distance away, located directly at the base of the Unnamed Mountain, was an _actual Snowskin army._ Hundreds of tents were pitched in the rolling hills. Watchtowers stood atop the ridgeline, and red flags fluttered above it all. Men gathered around the shores of a lake nearby to wash themselves or their clothing, while warriors gathered together in the field to drill for battle, swinging their swords high and shouting together.  
  
There were nearly a thousand Samurai in this encampment. If the fight by the river was any indication, this was far more than enough to completely wipe out Whetu’s army.  
  
Anathi’s nose twitched.  
  
“Koji’s been here. I can smell him.” The lion said.  
  
Toa Mira slipped off Anathi’s back and the two began to stealthily approach the camp. The guards and sentries were distracted by the caravan survivors, who arrived in a piecemeal fashion, crying out for help and bleeding all over the ground. Keeping low in the tall grass, Toa Mira followed Anathi as he sniffed out the trail of the double-crossing Snowskin.  
  
As they drew nearer, the pair spotted the largest building in the encampment, and it was a very curious sight indeed. Unlike the rest of the army tents, this complex of buildings was clearly a permanent structure that had been built long ago. The complex consisted of a large red gate, beyond which a set of stone stairs led to a group of small buildings. Stone statues guarded one particular building surrounded by a wooden fence. The entire complex was encircled by a series of poles tied together with a white string.  
  
Whatever this place was, it had been damaged by the catastrophe that effected the entire world. One of the smaller buildings was outright demolished, reduced to a shattered ruin. The white string around the premises was cut in several places, and the red gate marking the entrance was burned and charred. In the center of the complex, a statue of a large dragon was decapitated. Its head lay upside down, embedded in the stone walkway below.  
  
But it wasn’t the decapitated statue that caught Toa Mira’s attention. Next to it were two people, having a conversation. Anathi nudged Toa Mira with his paw and said:  
  
“My vision isn’t the best at long distance. You’ll have to tell me what you see.”  
  
Toa Mira sat up in the grass and narrowed her eyes.  
  
“I see a man and a young woman.” Toa Mira began. “I am confident that the man is Koji, the traitor we seek. He wears the same clothing.”  
  
“Who is the woman?” Anathi asked.  
  
Toa Mira took a moment to silently thank the gods for blessing her with such good eyesight. Even at this distance, she could make out a few details.  
  
“I believe she is the Snowskin equivalent of a Tohunga.” Toa Mira said. “She wears such elaborate and beautiful clothing; and carries some kind of tool made of shiny metal. It might be gold. Her clothes are red and white, and she has colored fabric in her hair.”  
  
As Toa Mira spoke, something odd happened. The Snowskin woman, dressed in her white robes and baggy red trousers, suddenly broke off her conversation and turned her head to look out into the wilderness. For the shortest possible moment, Toa Mira was certain that this woman had looked directly at her. In any case, the woman’s features were suddenly burned into Toa Mira’s mind.  
  
A pale face, straight black hair, _vivid blue eyes.  
  
_ “What is it?” Anathi asked. “What do you see?”  
  
“It is not what I see…” Toa Mira said slowly. “I sense magic. That woman down there is magical. I can feel it.”  
  
Even at this great distance, Toa Mira could feel the cold and harsh aura radiating off this strange Snowskin. She knew, instantly, that this person was extremely dangerous. Yet at the very same time, Toa Mira felt a powerful compulsion to enter this mysterious place. She needed to see and learn and know more about what was going on in there. She needed to see this woman’s power for herself. And if she was lucky, she might be able to recapture or kill Koji along the way.  
  
“We wait until night.” Toa Mira told Anathi. “Then we’re going in there.”


	10. Toa Mira's Unexpected Adventure

Toa Mira and Anathi settled down for the long haul, or rather, Toa Mira did. Something about this place seemed to have put Anathi on edge, and he wanted nothing more than to leave this place very far behind.  
  
Not that he could have. The survivors of the caravan assault had raised the alarm, and now all of the sentries around the Snowskin army’s encampment were reinforced and on alert. Lying flat on their bellies and holding still was the only option for both lion and woman for now. Wounded fighters were brought into the camp and spoke to their rescuers as they were treated. By now, Toa Mira was certain that the position of Whetu’s army had been given away.  
  
“Do you think the Snowskins will sortie out to meet Whetu?” Toa Mira whispered.  
  
“Not tonight.” Anathi hissed. “The sun is too low and the Queen will have had time to reform the army. The element of surprise is lost.”  
  
The sun dipped lower, staining the horizon red. Meanwhile, Toa Mira and Anathi noticed something else. While the Snowskin warriors milled about the camp as normal, they seemed to be going out of their way to avoid the compound of buildings behind the red gate. Those who did come near it paused to give a sign of apparent reverence before moving on.  
  
“It’s a sacred place.” Anathi guessed. “Perhaps the home of a Shaman or Tohunga.”  
  
Toa Mira agreed.  
  
“That’s good for us.” She said. “That means there will be very few guards or sentries. We just need to get past the first line.”  
  
The opportunity to infiltrate the camp would not come until the sun descended all the way below the horizon. Just when Toa Mira was starting to feel the ground getting cold, Anathi nudged her.  
  
“Movement. The sentries are being changed out.”  
  
New guards were replacing their counterparts on the wooden wall and watch tower. The Lightstones they were using to illuminate their surroundings were being briefly shrouded as they were passed from one person to another. To add even more to the duo’s good luck, an opaque cloud spewed out of the summit of the Unnamed Mountain, blotting out the starlight. Under the cover of darkness, Toa Mira and Anathi made their move. They slunk around the perimeter of the Snowskin army’s camp, moving until it was firmly between themselves and the relative safety of Whetu’s army. This allowed Toa Mira to approach the sacred building from behind, where there were no walls or towers.  
  
Flickering lights emanated through the windows of the building. Toa Mira picked one large open window and snuck to a position beneath it. Looking inside, Toa Mira realized that this was one of the “Shrines” Tashiro had mentioned all the way back in Candon. Lightstones hanging from the ceiling illuminated a wide hall. Small papers and banners adorned the wall, countless strange symbols and icons painted on them. A large wooden sign hung over an elevated platform with more inscriptions on it. On the platform, warm food had been placed around a small statue of a man. Behind it, a very large drum rested in a wooden cradle. There were four people inside the Shrine. They were all on the far side of the room, their backs toward Toa Mira’s position. One of them was Koji, and the lone female of the group was the woman dressed in red and white robes Toa Mira had spotted earlier. They were staring out of the far window together and were having a conversation in the Snowskin language.  
  
“Karera wa watashitachi no ushiro ni imasu.” Koji was saying.  
  
The woman in religious robes nodded and replied.  
  
“Itsumo to onaji puran.”  
  
Then she turned towards the other two men. Toa Mira strongly suspected that these individuals were the Samurai lords who had gone missing from today’s battle. Perhaps one of them was the lord Naruhiko that Koji had talked about betraying.  
  
“Raion ga imasu. Watashitachi wa nani o subeki?” Asked the first lord.  
  
“Mondainai.” The second lord replied with a shrug. “Onaji koto o suru.”  
  
The woman nodded as if in agreement, then she raised her voice and said loudly:  
  
“Hajimemashou.”  
  
Simultaneously, Toa Mira and Anathi felt a pair of hands grab them by the head! The very last thing Toa Mira heard before she fell unconscious was someone muttering the words:  
  
“Remember, no Japanese.”  
  
…  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
…  
  
Toa Mira blinked. Rousing, she cursed herself for her momentary lapse in wakefulness. Granted, the inside of this closet was very warm and cozy. Anathi was curled up on the floor, whist Toa Mira had perched herself atop a large pile of clothing. Toa Mira fought back a yawn, then rejoined Anathi in their silent vigil.  
  
It had been several hours since Toa Mira and Anathi crammed themselves inside of this closet. It was the lion’s idea. Lay in wait and spy on Koji’s meeting with this religious woman, then capture a single person who they agreed was of great value, and return them to Whetu’s army. So far, both Koji and his companion had stayed outside, talking long into the night. Just when Toa Mira feared that no one was going to enter the Shrine tonight, she heard a commotion going on outside.  
  
The closet door behind which Toa Mira and Anathi were hidden was made from wood and paper. Toa Mira slid the door the smallest way open she could so that she and Anathi could stare through the crack.  
  
Outside, voices were raised, someone yelled, and then the doors slammed open.  
  
Five people crashed into the room with much noise and anger. The woman dressed in red and white robes appeared first. She was followed into the room by four Snowskin men dressed in ornate clothing. One of them was Koji. There was no doubt in Toa Mira’s mind that the remaining three were Samurai lords, and they were all very angry. Of the foursome, the one who stood out the most was a bald-headed man with sunken eyes that seemed to be clouded over. Toa Mira quickly picked up on an aura of magic that seemed to surround this person.  
  
Stepping forward, the bald man approached the woman, who responded by raising her arms to shield herself while pleading:  
  
“No! Your Highness, please wait!”  
  
The bald man struck her across the face and she fell to the floor with a scream. Behind him, the two lords and Koji winced.  
  
“That is the last time I indulge your kind!” The bald man shouted. “You frightened my soldiers into flight, and now a year’s worth of harvest has been stolen by the Partogans! Were you not a mikogami, I would drag you outside the limits of this Shrine and impale you on a spike! Do not leave this Shrine again without my permission, or else you may find yourself swiftly returned to your father’s home in Lake Naho!”  
  
In their hiding spot, Toa Mira and Anathi had to hold their breath as the bald man kicked the woman on the floor before saying to his men,  
  
“I do not wish to see another dragon flying over these lands in my lifetime. What a waste. It’s almost as though she were trying to help those Maori and Levakian Gaijin!”  
  
The man swept out of the room in a huff and left the Shrine. Koji raised his eyebrow at the two Samurai lords before he, too, made his exit. Once it was clear that Koji and the bald man were gone, the two lords raced to help the woman back to her feet.  
  
“Outrageous.” The first man said. He was significantly older than his companion, and had a thick beard that ran down to the middle of his chest. “To think I’d witness the daughter of the Lake-God being treated so contemptuously with my own eyes.”  
  
“You are a most merciful mikogami.” The second man addressed the woman. He was younger, and the right side of his face was scarred. “I was frightened you may have transformed into the Silver Dragon at any moment and killed us all, as would have been your right.”  
  
Toa Mira could feel Anathi’s hair stand up on end. She too, was suddenly paralyzed with shock. So, this must be the magical power Toa Mira sensed coming from the Snowskin woman. This woman, the Silver Dragon, had flown over the battlefield early that morning, and evidently, the fear and terror she invoked in the Snowskins was unintentional.  
  
Toa Mira was so focused on trying to think of why the Silver Dragon’s efforts had backfired that she gave absolutely no thought to why all of these Snowskins were speaking in a language she could understand instead of their own. Meanwhile, the scene in the hall continued on.  
  
“I appreciate your kind words.” The Silver Dragon said, wiping blood away from her mouth. “I am still saddened that I must serve a King who holds people like me in such low regard.”  
  
“He has contempt for the Gods, their children, and for all tradition!” the older Samurai said. “I confess, I secretly await the day when another man takes his place.”  
  
“Who? You?” Taunted the younger man.  
  
“I thank you both for considering the thought of avenging me, but I pray it never becomes necessary.” The Silver Dragon silenced them both. “Come see me tomorrow morning before you go off to battle the Maori Gaijin, and I’ll grant my blessings. For now, I must pray for the army as a whole. Lord Naruhiko, Lord Hideo. Good night.”  
  
Realizing that this was their que to leave, Naruhiko and Hideo both bowed to the Silver Dragon and departed through the same door as King Inari and Koji. Once they were gone, a slight movement caught Toa Mira’s eye. Slowly, both she and Anathi shifted themselves in that cramped little closet to get a better view.  
  
Another doorway on the opposite side of the room had opened. It seemed to lead farther into the building, because nervous voices were speaking on the other side of it.  
  
“Are they gone?” A girl’s voice squeaked.  
  
The Silver Dragon nodded.  
  
Four Snowskin women entered. They were all dressed in identical red and white outfits as the Silver Dragon. The eldest was a middle-aged woman with a cloth wrapping around her head that hid her right eye from view. The youngest was barely older than a child. One of the other women had a face that nearly caused Toa Mira to burst out in laughter. It was nearly identical to Queen Whetu’s face, albeit older and colored like a Snowskin. Toa Mira made a mental note to mention this to Whetu later.  
  
The group of women congregated around the Silver Dragon and began to treat her injuries. Using a cloth to sponge away her blood, they fawned over their companion and asked her to recount exactly what happened. Even though Toa Mira had just witnessed the events herself, she didn’t mind the re-telling. All of this would help her when she eventually reported back to Whetu.  
  
Finally, the woman with a covered eye asked:  
  
“So, why didn’t you just turn into a dragon and kill them all?”  
  
Ah, yes. Toa Mira also wanted to know the answer. She pressed her face even closer to the crack in the door to see and hear more.  
  
“You know it doesn’t work that way.” The Silver Dragon replied. “I can’t just change whenever I want. It has to be a royal command. A King or Queen has to tell me to do it, and even then, there’s still a price that has to be paid.”  
  
“So the King went to all that trouble to change you into a dragon and it still didn’t work out in his favor?” The young girl asked. “How come?”  
  
“Gods are fickle things.” The Silver Dragon laughed. “Their children are doubly so. Now it getting really late. If you four have finished cleaning for the night you can go home. I’ll be here a little while longer.”  
  
“Just you?” One of the other women replied. “You sure you can handle this place by yourself?”  
  
“Of course.” The Silver Dragon replied confidently. “The Partogans are far from here, and their Levakian pets only seem to hunt in the daytime. I’ll be fine.”  
  
Inside the closet, Toa Mira tightened her grip on her spear. A plan was starting to form in her mind. She could see the opportunity before her and was refusing to let it pass. One by one, the other women bade goodnight and left the Shrine. It wasn’t long until the Silver Dragon was alone in the Shrine… at least… _she thought she was alone._  
  
The Silver Dragon had set about some religious ritual. She knelt down before the small statue on the platform was quietly praying aloud. Toa Taki quietly tapped Anathi with her spear and whispered:  
  
 _“Take her alive.”_  
  
Anathi swished his tail in acknowledgement.  
  
The Silver Dragon paused in her prayers to let out a long, drawn out yawn. Toa Mira put one hand on the door.  
  
The Silver Dragon stood up and pressed her fingers to her head as though she was trying to remember something. Toa Mira tensed her muscles, ready.  
  
The Silver Dragon absentmindedly turned on her feet, facing away from the closet.  
  
Toa Mira slammed the door open and Anathi lunged!  
  
The hapless woman had only a second to react and she wasted it. Anathi’s paws, claws retracted, connected with her back and she fell forward, hitting the floor with a loud _thump_ before both Anathi and Toa Mira were on top of her! Toa Mira put her knee in the small of the Silver Dragon’s back and then brought her spear around the woman’s front before pressing it into her throat. The Silver Dragon choked and spluttered, Anathi growled in her ear:  
  
“Make any more noise and you’ll die, Snowskin.”  
  
She went limp. Keeping one arm wrapped around her neck, Toa Mira wrestled the Silver Dragon to her feet. Anathi raised his hackles, unsheathed his claws, flattened his ears, and addressed the Snowskin in the most intimidating growl imaginable:  
  
“You’re coming with us now. Resist, you die. Scream, you die. Am I clear?”  
  
The Silver Dragon was plainly terrified. She nodded quickly, whimpering. Anathi turned around and loped out of the nearest window. Following at an awkward shuffle, Toa Mira and her captive followed suit.  
  
Outside, Anathi led the way. He blazed a trail out of the Shrine complex, following the route he and Toa Mira used to get in. The Silver Dragon was compliant and moved quickly. To accommodate their rapid escape, Toa Mira grabbed a fistful of the prisoner’s long black hair and held on tightly, allowing both herself and the Dragon the full range of movement while minimizing the chance of escape.  
  
Along the way, a shiny glint of light caught Toa Mira’s attention. Just outside of the Shrine’s perimeter was a hastily assembled shack, similar in appearance to the armory Queen Whetu found her crystal sword in.  
  
“Wait a moment.” Toa Mira whispered.  
  
She passed off the Silver Dragon to Anathi. The Snowskin priestess whimpered frightfully as the Levakian hunter put one huge paw on her shoulder.  
  
“Don’t eat me… oh, please don’t eat me.” The Silver Dragon gasped.  
  
“We’re not going to eat you.” Anathi growled.  
  
“But… but…” The Silver Dragon stammered. “I heard that Partogans and Levakians always eat their enemies.”  
  
“We only eat enemy warriors that fall in battle.” Anathi grumbled. “No one else. We are civilized, you know.”  
  
Meanwhile, Toa Mira slowly approached the suspicious building. The only weapon she had right now was a short spear, and she was thinking about how earlier today, she had seen spears being broken by Samurai swords. Getting one of those steel weapons for her own would be very helpful.  
  
Toa Mira’s hunch turned out to be correct. It was an armory. Just like at the camp outside of Candon, there were countless Samurai weapons resting in racks on the inside walls. Toa Mira didn’t think about why the building wasn’t guarded, she just wanted some of these weapons. Moving silently, Toa Mira grabbed a handful of belts from a table and draped them around herself. Then she grabbed two short swords and secured them to her belts.  
  
Turning to leave, Toa Mira suddenly thought that a few members of the Queen’s Company might ask for swords of their own, so she grabbed two more. Then she wondered if she would need a spare. Do these swords break? She grabbed four more. Then another contingency popped into her mind. More swords.  
  
By the time Toa Mira left the shack, she was carrying _twelve_ Samurai swords of varying shape and length, strapped to her back, waist, and legs. Each belt sagged from the weight and Toa Mira’s movement speed, already painfully slow, was impeded even further. Anathi raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything. The Silver Dragon looked like she was going to pass out from fear. In fact, she appeared to resent leaving Anathi’s grasp and traveling alongside Toa Mira again.  
  
Down the hill and out of the Snowskin Army camp, Anathi, Toa Mira, and their prisoner moved in silence through the dark. This was where Toa Mira’s naturally sluggish pace worked in her favor, as if she moved any faster, the dozen swords strapped to her body would have clanged together and made noise. It was only when the Lightstones of the watchtowers were significantly far behind did their pace pick up.  
  
Even so, the trio didn’t get far. The group paused on a hilltop and looked around. It was now the absolute middle of the night. Pitch blackness in all directions, and the only reference point was the Lightstones of the Snowskin army camp in the distance. Keeping the Silver Dragon’s hair tight in her hand, Toa Mira said:  
  
“It’s too dark to get back to Whetu now. We have to wait for morning. Everyone settle down here. And don’t you dare think of running away. Anathi and I are going to sleep in shifts.”  
  
The lion nodded in agreement, and the Silver Dragon whimpered again. When Toa Mira yanked on her hair, she complied and started to lie on the ground. Anathi kept his eye on the captive while Toa Mira started to undo her many belts and deposit her swords on the ground, but then… the two warriors and their prisoner were hit by a wall of noise!  
  
The _CRACK_ was so sudden and so loud that all three people went deaf for a few seconds afterward. Toa Mira could hear ringing in her ears and nothing else as the steppe around her was suddenly illuminated by an orange glow. She, Anathi, and the Silver Dragon all looked around.  
  
The top of the Unnamed Mountain was on fire! Untold thousands of orange and yellow lights sailed through the air and landed on the slopes of the mountain, where they broke into smaller pieces, raining fire and sparks down until the mountainside wore a cloak of fire! Thick clouds, stained orange by the fires below, billowed upwards while lightning snapped and cracked deep within.  
  
As her hearing slowly returned, Toa Mira could hear the Silver Dragon scream:  
  
“We need to run!”


	11. How She Returned to Her Friends

Crowned with flames, the Unnamed Mountain continued to send an inferno into the sky! Toa Mira grabbed the Silver Dragon and threw her onto Anathi’s back.  
  
“Run!” Toa Mira shouted. “Go!”  
  
The lion took off into the steppe, which now shone with demonic orange light. The Silver Dragon wrapped her arms around Anathi and held on for dear life.  
  
 _CRASH!  
  
_ Something huge and solid hit the ground nearby, throwing dirt and sparks into the air. Toa Mira had never seen a lava bomb before tonight and didn’t know what to call one, but now she was caught in a hailstorm of them. The sound of boulders sailing through the sky was enough to strike fear into the very core of Toa Mira’s soul. Each time a lava bomb hit the ground, the subsequent explosion rattled her ears and threatened to throw her off her feet. It was all Toa Mira could do just to keep putting one foot in front of the other, following Anathi’s trail.  
  
One lava bomb crashed into the next hill to the right and started a fire! Dry and parched, the steppe grasses ignited with little prompting, creating a wall of flames that threatened to block Toa Mira’s path forward. Even though it was the middle of the night, Toa Mira could now see very far ahead of her. She made out the ridgeline ahead, behind which yesterday’s battle was fought.  
  
She could just barely see Anathi and the Silver Dragon in the distance. They were very far ahead, dodging lava bombs and skirting around the intensifying wildfire. Toa Mira knew she needed to catch up with them, but that wasn’t going to be easy. She would have to use her new skill.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Toa Mira tried to focus and calm her mind. Then, a lava bomb smashed to the ground so close by that the hairs on her left arm and leg were singed. Screaming, Toa Mira fell to her hands and knees as pebbles and stones rained down on her from the sky. It was as if the entire world was trying to kill her!  
  
Standing up again, Toa Mira saw that Anathi and the Silver Dragon had both vanished from view. The trail weaved through the smoldering grass, and Toa Mira focused her vision on that spot as closely as possible. Doing her best to ignore the heat and noise, tuning out the crashing of lava bombs and roaring of the nearby volcano, Toa Mira began to move as slowly as possible, inching forward at a pace any snail could outperform. Over the noise of the destruction around her, Toa Mira focused her mind clearly on the words of Tohunga Nixie, words she had heard countless times before now:  
  
“Patience. Practice will bring skill.”  
  
Toa Mira had practiced dozens of times before now. She knew what to do.  
  
While the world around her was subsumed in fire and chaos, Toa Mira put one foot in front of the other... _and travelled father forward than any of us can concive._  
  
Planting her foot firmly on the ground again, Toa Mira knew it had worked before she looked up. The Unnamed Mountain was now even further behind her, the distant lights of the Snowskin camp were beyond the horizon, and even the stars above seemed to have shifted their positions, if only a little.  
  
Panting loudly, Anathi shot past Toa Mira at full speed before looking around as he realized she somehow passed him. Even the Silver Dragon regarded her captor with a puzzled expression. Toa Mira raised one hand and pointed towards a distant reflection.  
  
“The lake!” she called out. “I’ll meet you there.”  
  
Anathi put his head down and continued to sprint. The Silver Dragon’s black hair caught the wind and billowed behind her. Meanwhile, the mountain gave one last mighty heave, sending a final shower of sparks, flames, and lava bombs into the air. Amidst the glowing inferno behind her, the myriad of swords strapped to her body caused Toa Mira to shimmer and shine like a desert mirage. Then, she seemed to just flit out of view as she used her skill a second time. For any other person in the Universe, a simple half-step forward would only carry them forward a miniscule distance, but Toa Mira was crossing ridges and valleys at incomprehensible speed.  
  
Naturally, Toa Mira reached the shores of Lake Naho first. When Anathi and the Silver Dragon arrived, they collapsed along the waterline. The lion was so badly winded that he fell to all fours and rolled over onto his side, tongue sticking out.  
  
Meanwhile, their Snowskin captive, happy to be alive, got down on her knees facing towards the Unnamed Mountain and clasped her hands together, muttering a prayer to herself. They were so far away from the mountain now that there was no danger of lava bombs or fire, but the inferno on the horizon did light the surroundings enough to make out Anathi’s face in the dark. The Mountain seemed to be settling down. The flames at its peak were dying out, anyway. Toa Mira interrupted by jabbing the Silver Dragon in the back of the head with one of her many blades.  
  
“Did you do that?” she demanded. “Are you trying to kill us?”  
  
The Silver Dragon immediately shook her head and replied:  
  
“Only the Gods can make something like that happen.”  
  
Lowering her weapon, Toa Mira shot a look at Anathi.  
  
“How are you?” She asked. “Fit to continue traveling?”  
  
The lion shook his head, still panting.  
  
“Afraid not.” Anathi replied. “We Levakians are not like you Partogans. We cannot run great distances for long time like you can. Sprint? Certainly, but we can’t cross a country at speed. I need to rest for some time.”  
  
Without waiting for a reply, Anathi slumped over with a great sigh. Like other cats in their many shapes and sizes, his body seemed to melt and mold itself into the spot he lay. Anathi’s breathing became soft and a deep rumble sounded from his chest. Toa Mira rounded on the Silver Dragon.  
  
The captive needed no prompting. Keeping her eye on Toa Mira, the Snowskin got down on the ground and nestled herself up to the Levakian’s belly, draping one of his massive paws over herself.  
  
“I’m not going anywhere.” The Silver Dragon said. “Besides, where could I go? King Inari is already angry with me, and if I show up now after the mountain’s fury... well... I think I’d prefer your friend’s claws to the King’s wrath.”  
  
Even so, Toa Mira did not go to sleep until just before sunrise, when Anathi woke up and took charge of watching the prisoner.  
  
…  
  
Late the next morning, Toa Mira woke up feeling the wholly negative effects of sleeping on a sandy beach with an empty stomach. She felt terrible. Anathi and the Silver Dragon were nearby, eating raw fish by the waterline.  
  
“Where?” grumbled Toa Mira.  
  
Wordlessly, the Silver Dragon made a gesture with one hand. The water nearby erupted with noise as a large fish flew away from the surface towards the beach, as though it was caught on some invisible string. Picking up one of her many swords, Toa Mira moved to decapitate the fish while giving a curious look at the Silver Dragon.  
  
“So, you are helping us now?”  
  
The Silver Dragon shrugged.  
  
“You said you’d kill me if I resist or escape, and I don’t wanna die, so...”  
  
Three more fish were summoned to shore by the Dragon’s power, and Anathi wolfed them down quickly. As Toa Mira set about her own early meal, the Levakian asked:  
  
“What’s your name, Dragon? What are you, and what were you doing in that temple?”  
  
The Silver Dragon thoughtfully looked down at the lake before starting her explanation:  
  
“I’m called Noriko.” She began. “I’m a mikogami at the Naho Shrine.”  
  
“Right, if Tashiro were here he’d provide an explanation.” Anathi grumbled. “Since he’s not, you’ll have to tell us what that means.”  
  
“My mother is a miko, a Priestess, at the Shrine you took me from.” Noriko said. “You were hiding in the wash closet, weren’t you? You would have seen her. She has only one eye.”  
  
“Yes, we did see her.” Toa Mira sat down next to Noriko and Anathi. “What does a miko do? What does the Shrine do?”  
  
“Mikos assist the kannushi, the Shrine masters.” Noriko explained. “The Naho Shrine was built by the King’s father, to investigate the disappearance of Tsukuyomi and try to call him back.”  
  
Most of Noriko’s explanation made sense to Toa Mira and Anathi, except for that one really complex word that began with a “t” sound.  
  
“Say that again?” Anathi asked. “What are you trying to find?”  
  
“Tsukuyomi.” Noriko looked perplexed. “Uh, you know, Tsuki, big white thing in the night sky? Sometimes it’s yellow or red.”  
  
Toa Mira and Anathi shook their heads. Noriko bent down and drew a line in the sand before dotting the area above it.  
  
“Here’s the night sky, right?” Noriko said. “Well, when was the last time any of you saw the Tsuki?”  
  
Noriko drew a circle in her image of the night sky, then used her finger to draw a crescent shape in the middle of it.  
  
“My father’s father said nobody’s seen the Tsuki in almost six generations.” Noriko explained. “Back then, it used to appear or disappear regularly, to the point where people could mark Tsukuyomi’s departure and return on a calendar, but then the eclipse happened, and the Tsuki went away forever.”  
  
A little frustrated, Toa Mira was forced to accept that there simply wasn’t a word in the Partogan language for whatever Noriko was trying to describe. A big white thing in the night sky that came and went as it pleased. Okay then. Toa Mira decided to circle back to this topic another time.  
  
“You told us what a miko does at the Shrine. But you called yourself something different. What is a mikogami?” Toa Mira inquired.  
  
Noriko lowered her voice, jerked her head towards the calm lake and said:  
  
“A child of the Gods. My mother is wedded to the Lake God.”  
  
Toa Mira felt her heart skip a beat and actually choked on her mouthful of raw fish. Suddenly, this girl’s ability to summon fish from Lake Naho and turn into a Silver Dragon made much more sense! Anathi must have jumped to the same conclusion because he stood up, moved a short distance away from the lakeshore, and sat down again, tail curled around his legs. Toa Mira couldn’t blame him. She suddenly wanted to be much further away from the lake as well.  
  
Kind of hurriedly, Anathi declared that it was time to return to the Partogan-Levakian army and hand over Noriko to Queen Whetu. Toa Mira couldn’t agree quickly enough. Noriko mentioned that she wanted to go back to the Shrine and see her mother, but what she wanted was irrelevant. This kidnapping wasn’t over yet.  
  
The trio hiked to the nearest hill and looked over the steppe surrounding them. To the north was Lake Naho. Even in the clear early morning light, it was impossible to see to the other side. To the south, the Unnamed Mountain was no longer on fire, but it was still restless, sending up billowing clouds of grey smoke and ash into the sky, where it was caught by an east wind and blown towards the Charred Forest, dried up lakebed, and the city of Candon. Further to the east, dust and smoke rose up from the horizon.  
  
“Isn’t that where we just came from last night?” Anathi asked. “That must mean Whetu’s army is over there.”  
  
He looked to the south and sniffed the air. Then he sneezed.  
  
“Sulfur and ash.” The lion complained. “Even the most skilled huntress would struggle out here.”  
  
“Wait here.” Toa Mira said. “I have an idea.”  
  
Inhaling deeply, the young warrior focused her mind and took a deliberately slow step forward. The horizon raced towards her and the world sped by faster that she could blink. She had left Lake Naho almost a half-day's journey behind and was now deep in the steppe.  
  
Toa Mira was actually trying to return to the site of yesterday’s battle. She guessed that Whetu’s army might still be there, or at least be close by, having recently departed. Yet there was no sign of anyone. Toa Mira was alone with nothing but grass and wind for company. She turned on her heels, looking for any sign of her location. Sure enough, there were the two hills where the trap was sprung. Toa Mira had overshot her destination by about two-thousand paces. A mistake easily rectified.  
  
When she arrived on the scene just a few moments later, Toa Mira’s nose was assaulted by a powerful stench! The ground was stained with day-old blood, and all sorts of carrion animals were busying themselves with whatever Whetu’s army had left behind. Corpses of Levakians, Partogans, and Snowskins were arranged and cremated in groups, leaving smoldering funeral pyres all over the place, built from the wagons Whetu’s army had spent nearly two weeks trying to chase down.  
  
But most importantly of all, Whetu’s army wasn’t here. Not a single Toa, huntress, Rangatira, slave, or camp follower remained. Toa Mira could clearly see the trail they left. Approximately two thousand sets of feet had trampled the grass down, moving in one particular direction... northwest.  
  
…  
  
Returning to her comrade and their prisoner, Toa Mira delivered her report. The Levakian let out a low rumbling growl as he thought aloud:  
  
“The Queen must have assumed the enemy would be taken off balance by the mountain’s distress last night. After all, they were much closer to the fires than our own warriors. Enough time has gone by for the enemy’s position to be given away by any number of huntresses. Perhaps our fellow Toa and hunters have already moved against them.”  
  
“You mean we have to go back the way we came?” Noriko sounded hopeful.  
  
“Not necessarily.” Toa Mira replied. “We need to reach Queen Whetu before she reaches that army. We need to intercept her.”  
  
Toa Mira looked between the grassy hilltops. Holding her hands in front of her, she marked the last known position of Whetu’s army with one hand and covered up the clouds rising from the Snowskin camp with the other. Then she brought her hands together and pointed towards a spot roughly halfway between the two marks.  
  
“That is where we need to go.”  
  
Anathi and Noriko followed the line Toa Mira’s finger was pointing with their eyes, and then Noriko said:  
  
“We have to go towards the angry mountain. Maybe you should just kill me instead.”  
  
“And deny our Queen a Dragon she could command?” Anathi snarked. “You wish.”  
  
“I won’t deny that.” Noriko muttered softly.  
  
She didn’t wait for Toa Mira to grab her hair this time. Noriko set out behind Anathi, moving swiftly towards their meeting with Queen Whetu.  
  
…  
  
The trio spent the better part of the morning traveling across the steppe at a brisk pace. Anathi didn’t have the stamina to sustain a run, and Toa Mira wasn’t willing to leave him behind. The two women took turns riding on the lion’s back to rest their feet, but about three hours into their journey, there was a development that forced the trio to proceed on foot together at a much slower pace.  
  
The steppe terrain, already somewhat hard and rocky, was becoming even more rocky than usual. Large slabs of stone took up wide stretches of ground, while grass and shrubbery were becoming less common.  
  
“We have not been here before.” Toa Mira commented. “I would remember.”  
  
“Something isn’t right.” Anathi growled. “The scent is off.”  
  
Finally, they came to the summit of the next hill and found exactly what was wrong.  
  
There were five or six hills between here and the now-black smoke rising from the Snowskin army’s camp. Clouds of dust were rising on the southern ridgeline, suggesting the presence of an army on the move. But between those dust clouds and the trio, there was a most alarming sight.  
  
A great hole had been dug into the side of the next hill. The cavernous opening was tall enough to fit one of the wooden ships used to evacuate Levakia. Whatever dug this hole had travelled horizontally, boring into the slope with such force that slabs of rock the size of people had been thrown far into the air before crashing down to the ground again.  
  
The trio froze in horror.  
  
“We have to go around.” Toa Mira decided.  
  
“We can’t” Anathi argued. “The most direct path to Whetu is over that hill, and this is our only chance to catch her before she engages the Snowskins.”  
  
“Anathi, you know what is in there.” Toa Mira protested. “I know what is in there. Noriko probably knows, too.”  
  
“Kaijū.” Noriko gasped, her voice shaking.  
  
“Clearly, her people have a different name for it.” Toa Mira said. “But you and I? We know. Our parents and theirs warned us. That knowledge is what keeps us alive and separates us from the bones in the bottom of that cave. Anathi, use your common sense! We need to go around.”  
  
The lion took a confident step forward.  
  
“My people hunted these things in Levakia for food!” Anathi’s confidence was building. “It is no more dangerous to me than any Snowskin.”  
  
“Your people hunt those things in groups of fifteen.” Toa Mira grabbed Anathi’s mane and tried to hold him back. “You are one. You are not a pride!”  
  
Too late, Toa Mira realized she had raised her voice in frustration. Her angry tones carried across the late morning air and echoed into the cavern. From deep within, there came a hissing sound. Anathi turned towards Noriko.  
  
“You know any magic beyond summoning fish? Can you fight?”  
  
Noriko had gone quite pale, but she nodded.  
  
“I can do... I can... uh... a couple of things.”  
  
The hissing was growing louder. Toa Mira knew that the time to flee was rapidly passing. She cursed Anathi’s courage. Reluctantly, Toa Mira drew one of her many swords and held it in front of her with two hands.  
  
“Here it comes.” she breathed.  
  
Moving with the swiftness of much smaller creatures, a gargantuan animal extricated itself from the cave. Covered in hairy carapace, it walked on six legs, brandished a nightmare-inducing stinger on the end of its tail, and gnashed wickedly-sharp looking pinchers while a foul liquid dripped from its mouth. Throughout the entire recorded history of this world, no animal will ever be larger or more vicious and lethal than this one.  
  
The Zivon turned its insectoid eyes and caught a glimpse of the trio. It opened its poisonous pinchers wide and let out a blood-curdling screech! Then it put its head down and charged! Toa Mira, Anathi, and Noriko threw themselves out of the way as the Zivon, as tall as a fully grown tree, stormed their position at blinding speed. The Levakian-sized stinger stabbed the ground roughly where Toa Mira had just been, and she tried to take a swing at it with her sword, but the creature was too fast. Withdrawing its stinger, the Zivon tried to turn and face Toa Mira, but Anathi jumped onto its back!  
  
Claws and teeth sank into carapace. Noriko screamed and dove for cover as blood started to rain down on the ground. The Zivon shrieked and started to turn in a circle, trying to strike Anathi with its stinger, but the lion had grabbed on in such a way that the Zivon’s most potent weapon was unable to reach him. Toa Mira, meanwhile, was in a much less safe position. She had to avoid six legs while racing towards Noriko, grabbing her, and pulling her a safe distance away.  
  
“Dragon!” Toa Mira shouted over the noise of the screeching Zivon. “Magic that thing away!”  
  
“But-but-b-but...” Noriko babbled.  
  
“Do you want to die here?” Toa Mira’s question was interrupted by the simultaneous growling and screeching on Anathi and the Zivon. “Do you want to live? Do something, now!”  
  
Noriko pointed a shaking finger at the Zivon.  
  
“Stop that thing from moving, then get away! I can do something then!”  
  
Toa Mira drew a second sword. Carrying two blades, she picked her target carefully. Anathi was still latched onto the Zivon’s back clawing and biting at the base of its tail.  
  
“Join in anytime, Partogan!” Anathi roared.  
  
Toa Mira locked eyes on one of the Zivon’s front legs. The creature carried on trying to buck off Anathi, failing to notice Toa Mira down below. Finally, the Zivon took one turn too many and brought itself within Toa Mira’s striking range. She swung one sword after another, making contact with the Zivon’s leg twice, drawing blood on the first hit and severing the limb entirely with the second.  
  
Caught by surprise, the Zivon crumpled defensively, crashing down on its five remaining legs and thrusting its stinger towards Toa Mira. This time, she suffered the very predictable consequences of her painfully slow movement speed. The Zivon’s full body slammed down and knocked Toa Mira off her feet before the stinger barb made full contact with her shoulder. Intense burning pain stabbed through Toa Mira’s right side and her corresponding arm went limp. Dropping both swords, she screamed and tried to crawl away, pulling herself forward by grabbing the nearest rock with her only working hand.  
  
Behind her, the Zivon was now immobilized. It was lying down on its crippled leg and couldn’t strike farther than the range of its stinger. Anathi realized that Noriko was planning something and jumped clear. The lion paused in his escape just long enough to grab Toa Mira’s limp arm in his mouth and drag her away with him.  
  
Finally, Noriko raised one of her own hands, pointing the palm directly towards the Zivon. Then...  
  
She pulled backwards.  
  
A tiny point of blackness, no bigger than a pebble, appeared in the air in front of Noriko. It was darker and deeper than any cave or pit. It was more total and absolute than cloudy skies at midnight; and it consumed all. Pushing with what seemed to be all her might, Noriko sent the tiny point of blackness hurtling towards the immobilized Zivon!  
  
The creature screamed shrilly as it was swallowed whole by the darkness. The sight of such a monster being consumed was disturbing enough to make Toa Mira pass out. The last thing she saw was the dark pit vanishing into nothingness; while at the same time, Noriko’s eyes rolled up to the top of her head and she fell to the ground.  
  
…  
  
Toa Mira struggled to open her eyes. She got the sense that she was being carried, but by what or whom, she had no idea. Her body refused to obey her. Something seemed to be horribly wrong, and just when she was about to panic, a familiar voice spoke above her.  
  
“Don’t struggle, friend. You’re safe.”  
  
Tohunga Nixie was here. Her voice was so warm and kind, so welcome. Then Toa Mira suddenly remembered everything that happened before. She sat up and opened her eyes.  
  
“Anathi! The prisoner!”  
  
Instantly, Toa Mira was overcome with a powerful wave of dizziness. She fell back into a bed as colors swam shapelessly around her vision. Another voice spoke as warm hands gently pressed into Toa Mira’s forehead.  
  
“Both safe.” Said Toa Enoka. “Anathi carried the two of you on his back for such a long way, he needs to rest. And the prisoner you brought is being guarded by some of the Ranginui Toa. She’s not going anywhere.”  
  
“Did Whetu meet her yet?” Toa Mira asked. “Did Noriko meet Whetu?”  
  
“No, not yet.” Toa Enoka replied. “Whetu’s at the front line right now, she’s been leading the battle all day.”  
  
One more time, panic caused Toa Mira to sit up quickly.  
  
“Battle!?” She gasped. “We’re too late!?”  
  
“Too late for what?” Toa Enoka asked. “What’s going on?”  
  
Toa Mira tried to reach out and grab her friend, but found her hands grasping at empty air. Then she suddenly understood why the swirling colors around her were still there.  
  
“I’m blind.” she muttered. “I-I-I I can’t see.”  
  
“Zivon venom.” Tohunga Nixie explained. “I'm doing my best to heal you, but you must lie still, friend.”  
  
“Mira?” Toa Enoka’s voice came out of the shapeless fog. “What’s happened? Why do you need that prisoner to meet Whetu?”  
  
Reaching toward the sound of Toa Enoka’s voice, Toa Mira found him and pulled him close.  
  
“Noriko uses really powerful magic.” Toa Mira said. “She can turn the tide, but she only takes orders from Kings and Queens. Also, she knows King Inari. She met him. Find Whetu, tell her to come back and meet Noriko.”  
  
Toa Mira felt her friend grab her hand and squeeze it once.  
  
“You got it. Stay here and rest.” He said. “I’ll bring Whetu back.”


	12. Rage of the Silver Dragon

Toa Enoka had to run. Leaving nearly all of his weapons and equipment behind, save for a short spear, he took off from the camp at a sprint. Wounded Partogans and Levakians were shuffling along the hillside as they returned from the battlefield. Some were carrying fallen comrades with them. Following the trail of blood and broken bodies, Toa Enoka set his sights on the dark smoke rising from the next range of hills.  
  
They had been fighting all day. While Toa Mira and Anathi were working to bring Noriko back, Whetu’s army had been dealing with problems of its own. The previous night, the Unnamed Mountain had awoken, sending fire and stone hurtling through the sky. Panic and confusion reigned in the night when frightened warriors tried to escape from the flames. Queen Whetu and the rest of her company spent most of the night either taking shelter from the disaster or trying to reform the army.  
  
Rangatira and Tohunga alike tried to use magic to calm the Mountain to no avail. Tohunga Nixie called upon Mahuika for help, but this only seemed to make the Mountain’s rage grow worse. By the time the sun rose the next morning, the entire northern face of the Mountain was burned away and shrouded in a dense cloud of smoke. To make matters even worse… the Snowskin camp had been much closer to the cataclysm than their enemies.  
  
A wall of flame descended upon the Snowskin army in the middle of the night, incinerating all of the fabric tents and reducing the Shrine to a burned-out shell. This disaster had a truly profound (although unexpected) effect on the Snowskins.  
  
 _It caused a schism.  
  
_ Earlier this morning, Levakian scouts returned to the army and told Whetu that the Snowskin army had split up into two smaller groups who were actively fighting each other. A short but furious argument broke out between Whetu and several Toa before a plan was finally agreed upon: The Partogan-Levakian army would take full advantage of the enemy infighting to raid their camp for food.  
  
That was how a three-way battle commenced. The bouts of combat were short but ferocious. There wasn’t, as far as Toa Enoka could remember, a moment where all three groups were fighting at the same time. For the past seven or eight hours, combat proceeded in a familiar pattern. Two armies would clash for a few minutes, while the third force stood back and allowed their enemies to exhaust themselves. And then one or the other would withdraw, permitting the third force to engage whoever remained.  
  
During this chaos, Tashiro was the one who figured out what was going on.  
  
“King Inari is here!” He reported after the Partogans retreated from yet another bout with the Samurai. “We just fought with warriors who have chosen to rebel against him!”  
  
Just before Toa Mira, Anathi, and Noriko returned was when the full situation became apparent. Tashiro and Toa Enoka had worked together to capture an enemy officer. Under threat of a Levakian’s claws, he told the whole story. The previous night, King Inari expressed his fury towards a magical girl who was supposed to be the Silver Dragon. In his rage, Inari attacked her. Mere minutes later, the Unnamed Mountain had started to rain fire on the Snowskin camp. Many took this as a sign that Inari had lost the approval of the Gods and that now was the time to rise up against him. The rebels were being led by someone named Naruhiko.  
  
Now that the Snowskins were turning their advanced metal weapons against each other, the tide of battle was shifting in favor of Whetu’s army. When Toa Enoka reached the hilltop, he could see that hundreds of Partogans and Levakians were inside the charred remains of the Snowskin camp, pillaging whatever food supplies remained. Meanwhile, roughly a thousand paces away, small bands of Samurai were skirmishing in the field, cutting and slashing at one another with swords.  
  
In the middle of the chaotic melee, Toa Enoka spotted a frightening scene. Six Snowskin warriors formed a ring around two fighters, who were locked in close combat. The enemy soldiers lowered their spears toward the combatants, forcing them to remain in the fight. One of the two warriors trapped in the ring was a Snowskin man with a bald head. He wore the ornate gilded armor Toa Enoka had come to expect from Samurai leaders, and fought with a long sword held in both hands. His opponent was a Partogan woman with sleek silver hair, armed with a wooden club in one hand and a crystal sword in the other.  
  
Whetu!  
  
Toa Enoka gripped his spear tightly and charged down the hill into the fray. He didn’t really have a plan of any kind. He just wanted to stop Whetu from facing this enemy alone. Two Snowskin warriors, armed peasants by the looks of them, spotted Toa Enoka and tried to block his approach, brandishing their spears and shouting at him. The Partogan warrior stuck out his tongue and let out a screeching war cry, striking one of the enemy with his own spear as he ran past. The remaining Snowskin, too intimidated to fight, backed off.  
  
The shouting caught the attention of the Snowskins who were keeping Whetu trapped. One of them looked in Toa Enoka’s direction just long enough to see him coming, but couldn’t react quickly enough. Toa Enoka buried his spear in the man’s chest and followed it down as the enemy collapsed. He hit the ground and carried himself forward in an impromptu somersault, tumbling across the dirt before scrambling to his feet near Whetu, who gave him a shocked look.  
  
“Nice entrance.” She said quickly, “but you left your spear back there.”  
  
Toa Enoka had no time to reply. The bald-headed Samurai lunged forward! He side-stepped the enemy sword and grabbed the foe’s arm, trying to wrench the sword free.  
  
“Who is this one!?” Toa Enoka shouted above the yelling of the Snowskins.  
  
“Enoka, meet King Inari.” Whetu grunted as she tried to strike the enemy with her sword. She missed and almost stumbled into a waiting speartip. “Pretty sure he knows me, too.”  
  
The remaining Snowskins advanced, bringing their spears even closer to Whetu and her friend and forcing them both towards King Inari, who shouted something in his own language.  
  
“Tashiro isn’t here!” Whetu called over to her friend. “No one to translate.”  
  
“He’s probably back at the camp.” Toa Enoka replied while parrying a blow from Inari’s sword at the same time. “There’s a prisoner you need to see back there.”  
  
“I’m a little busy!” Whetu retorted.  
  
At that moment, a thin beam of purple light, no wider than a hair, shot out of Inari’s hand and connected with Whetu’s arm. Instantly, the Soulkeeper lit up like it had just been struck with lightning. The beam shot back in the direction it came, hitting Inari’s outstretched hand and forcing him to withdraw a few paces.  
  
The Snowskin King then did something very strange.  
  
For about half a second, an orange aura enveloped his entire body, causing King Inari to glow like the early morning sun… then… _he vanished._  
  
“GO!” Whetu yelled.  
  
She disengaged from the fight immediately, turning her attention to the Samurai warriors around her instead, leaving Toa Enoka confused and puzzled.  
  
“Where’d he go?” he yelled.  
  
“Who cares?” Whetu replied, “We need to get out of here before he comes back!”  
  
Whetu threw her club directly into the face of a nearby Samurai and he dropped his weapon in shock, allowing both Partogans to escape before his comrades could recover from the shock of what had just happened. Whetu and Toa Enoka made a break for it, running as fast as they could toward the Partogan lines.  
  
 _Thunk!_  
  
A wooden spear hit the ground to Whetu’s left. Looking over his shoulder, Toa Enoka saw a familiar face coming his way and yelled:  
  
“He’s back!”  
  
King Inari took another spear from one of his soldiers and cocked his arm back, ready to throw. Whetu stopped running and raised her sword.  
  
“Hit him again!” She ordered. “The harder you hit him, the longer he stays gone!”  
  
“Please tell me you didn’t find that out the hard way.” Toa Enoka groaned.  
  
Inari hurled the second spear towards the pair, and Whetu waved one hand towards it as though she were trying to swat it away. The spear curved in its path as though caught in a very powerful wind, landing harmlessly several paces in front of Toa Enoka.  
  
Three Samurai drew their weapons and started to charge at him. Toa Enoka, thinking fast, seized the fallen spear from the ground, took aim, and threw it. The wooden pole sailed through the sky and missed its mark by only a small amount, impaling the Snowskin King through his abdomen, just below his chest. Inari screamed in pain, trying to pull the weapon free. One more time, Inari was enveloped in an orange glow and vanished. Whetu used magic to sweep aside one of the incoming warriors, shouting:  
  
“Good one! That’ll slow him down! Come on, we can take these ones!”  
  
“No!” Toa Enoka replied. “You need to get back to camp. Toa Mira’s taken a Snowskin prisoner! She says she’s the Silver Dragon!”  
  
Two more Samurai descended on both fighters. Toa Enoka grabbed one of their spears and pushed them back, calling over his shoulder;  
  
“I’ve got these two! Go! Go meet that Dragon!”  
  
Reluctantly, Whetu nodded and broke off from the fight. As she ran back into the formation of her own warriors, she dispatched a hunting party of Levakians to rescue Toa Enoka.  
  
…  
  
The Partogan camp was now dangerously close to the battlefield. Sentries and guards posted around the tents and campfires were regularly engaging Snowskins who drew too close, and as Whetu ran up the hillside toward the entrance, she had to step around two wounded Samurai who were trying to escape an overzealous Levakian huntress. Tohunga Nixie was waiting for Whetu on the plateau above.  
  
“Toa Mira? Anathi?” Whetu asked.  
  
“Both injured, but alive.” Whetu’s sister replied. “They ran into a Zivon on their way back. Their prisoner is unharmed.”  
  
“Why’s it so important I meet the prisoner?” Whetu asked. “Couldn’t any Rangatira or lions like Quaxo handle a dragon?”  
  
“This dragon is special.” Tohunga Nixie explained. “Quaxo and I both picked up on her connections to heavenly power. We have no doubt she is the divine offspring she claims to be, which means she’ll only answer to a royal ruler, like you.”  
  
“Why’s that?”  
  
“How would I know?” Tohunga Nixie replied. “Gods are fickle things. Their children doubly so. Follow me and I’ll explain as we walk.”  
  
…  
  
Tohunga Nixie retold Toa Mira’s story with as much detail as possible as she led her sister to the place where the Silver Dragon was being held. The woman known as Noriko was being kept under very heavy guard, tied firmly to the largest tree in the area. (Which wasn’t very big, being in the middle of a steppe) Toa Kai and Toa Tangaroa were keeping watch over her with some help from King Jira and Quaxo. Tashiro Kopunui, the half-Snowskin warrior, was also here. When Whetu approached, she caught a short glimpse of several thoughts running through the minds of both lions.  
  
 _It was worth a try._ Tashiro was thinking.  
  
 _This creates another problem._ King Jira pondered to himself. _What if Noriko doesn’t recognize Whetu either?_  
  
“What did you learn from her?” Whetu asked her friends.  
  
“She is very powerful, and carries magic far beyond myself or anyone else I’ve ever met.” Quaxo said, “Simply put, she eclipses us all. It makes no sense why she went along with Toa Mira’s attempt to kidnap her. She clearly could have killed her captors and escaped at any moment of her choosing.”  
  
“Agreed.” Jira added. “This Noriko has the power to wipe us all out with the smallest possible effort on her part. She can probably do so right now. Yet she does not. The only explanation that makes sense is that she endured all of this for an opportunity to speak with you.”  
  
Whetu’s blood ran cold and she froze in her tracks. This was alarming news, to say the least. But before she could fully process this development, King Jira made a second reveal.  
  
“Furthermore, this Noriko claims that she will only recognize and obey the commands of royal rulers. Her master must be a King or Queen. Yet when I announced myself as the King of the Imperial Pride, she said that my power was subordinate to another.”  
  
Quaxo and Jira both scoffed.  
  
“That just means the Snowskins are educated.” Quaxo said. “They know that the Levakian Empress rules over all of the lands to the west.”  
  
Whetu felt her heart sinking. A painful realization had just hit her. Sure, she was a Queen, but she had received her title _from_ the Empress. Whetu was a vassal, a subordinate. That meant Noriko would be equally unlikely to listen to anything Whetu had to say. Toa Mira and Anathi had risked their lives on a gamble that probably wasn’t going to pay off. As soon as these thoughts went through her mind, a soft, unbidden voice slid through the back of her consciousness:  
  
 _Does Noriko know any of that, though? Perhaps she assumed the Levakians are subordinate to you. No harm in trying._  
  
Well, there really wasn’t.  
  
“Wait here.” Whetu told Quaxo and Jira. “And be quiet.”  
  
She approached the Silver Dragon cautiously, drew the Soulkeeper and aimed its crystal blade directly at Noriko. The prisoner looked down the sword and then up at Whetu.  
  
“My name is Whetu Kealoha. Queen of the Partogans and the chosen warrior of Mahuika, the Goddess of Fire. I was g-”  
  
Whetu was about to say that her title was given to her by the Levakian Empress, but then she remembered how Toa Enoka had put her leadership status to a vote back in Candon. Hadn’t a majority of people voted to recognize her as Queen? Thinking quickly, Whetu corrected herself, trying to inject some confidence into her voice.  
  
“I was elected by the leaders of my people, and through their consent, I wield the power of a ruler. I am the master here, do you understand?”  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, Whetu saw King Jira baulk, his expression one of anger and fury. Noriko, on the other hand, saw his reaction in full. Her eyes flickered back to Whetu.  
  
“Yes, your Majesty. I hear and obey.”  
  
Jira’s claws dug into the ground. Keeping a firm grip on her sword, Whetu spoke quickly while her courage remained intact.  
  
“What are you? Are you really the dragon we saw yesterday?”  
  
Noriko kept her explanation concise and easy to understand. She made it clear in no uncertain terms that yes, she did possess the ability to transform into a dragon, but it could only be activated if a ruler payed the price she demanded first.  
  
“And once you become a dragon, what do you do?”  
  
“Whatever my master commands.”  
  
“And what did Inari command you to do yesterday?” Whetu asked. “Tell the truth, or we’re going to find out what this blade can do to you.”  
  
Noriko never broke eye contact with Whetu, her blue eyes staring directly into the young Queen’s purple ones.  
  
“King Inari knew your army was coming. He knew you were raiding our country for food. He needed to know how many warriors you possessed and what weapons you carried. I was supposed to fly overhead and spy on you… but my appearance frightened all who were below. The King became angry with me when I returned.”  
  
“So I’ve heard.” Whetu replied. “Now here’s the question to end all questions… I’ve heard stories about what dragons can do. If I commanded you to turn your powers against Inari’s warriors, how do I know you’ll obey me?”  
  
Noriko turned pale, presumably at the thought of being order to attack her own countrymen. When she replied, her voice shook.  
  
“The gods rule over the heavens, mortals rule the earth. While I’m here, I… I...”  
  
Noriko didn’t finish her sentence. She looked down at the ground. From somewhere behind Whetu, Tohunga Nixie said:  
  
“You’d do it. Wouldn’t you? You’re compelled to obey a true Queen.”  
  
Jira snarled. Whetu could feel her arm getting tired and knew she wouldn’t be able to hold the Silver Dragon at sword-point much longer. She decided to go for broke.  
  
“What’s the price?” Whetu demanded. “What would I have to give you, to make you bring death and destruction to Inari’s army?”  
  
A tense silence hung in the air, one so thick that one could have cut it with a knife. Jira, Quaxo, Toa Tai, Toa Tangaroa, and Tohunga Nixie all stared at Whetu, open-mouthed. Noriko took a deep breath as though steeling herself, then said:  
  
“A man.”  
  
“Alright then.” Whetu replied. “I can bring you a man.”  
  
“Not just any man.” Noriko added. “I want… _him._ ”  
  
She nodded her head towards Tashiro. The half-Snowskin man took an uncomfortable step backwards. He looked around at his comrades. They all looked equally disturbed.  
  
“Tashiro is a member of my company.” Whetu said. “I can’t spare him.”  
  
“Fine.” Noriko replied. “Then I won’t help you.”  
  
Whetu took a good long look at the defiant dragon, then lowered her sword and turned around. Nixie, Tashiro and Jira were both waiting for her.  
  
“What kind of disrespectful display was that!?” Jira demanded. “How dare you present yourself as anything other than a subordinate to the Empress?”  
  
“How dare I?” Whetu repeated in a harsh whisper. “I’ll tell you. I’m trying to stop the Empress and all of our friends and family from starving to death back home. With that army out there, we don’t stand a chance. If we fail out here, Jira, loyalty to the Empress won’t mean a thing. She’ll probably die before we do, if she isn’t dead already! Now can we deal with the bigger problem here!?”  
  
Whetu pushed her way past Jira and tried to talk to Tashiro, but she was confronted by Tohunga Nixie. The spiritual leader grabbed Whetu by the shoulder and said:  
  
“I can see what you are planning to do, sister. I warn you, do this and you may not be the same person as you were this morning.”  
  
Whetu took Nixie’s hand and squeezed it.  
  
“I know.” She replied. “But I’d almost forgotten about why we’re out here, who we’re fighting for. I swore to the Empress that I would do anything to make sure our parents and brother, and all of our neighbors can live through the next year. This is the best opportunity we’ve gotten since we left home. We can’t ignore it. I can’t ignore it. We’ve gotta do this.”  
  
Tohunga Nixie looked like she was going to argue her dissenting opinion again, but Tashiro interrupted.  
  
“You don’t need to defend me, Tohunga. I’ll do it.”  
  
Everybody looked at him. Tashiro didn’t seem all that disturbed by the fact that a dragon had just demanded him for some unknown purpose. He was stony-faced, as though he had some general idea of what was coming next. He nodded towards Whetu.  
  
“It would be selfish of me to avoid sacrificing for our people back home.” Tashiro said. “Partogans took me in when Inari banished half-breeds like me from the kingdom. Perhaps this is my time to finally return the favor, to all of your kind.”  
  
No one was willing to argue with that. Jira and Tohunga Nixie both stood aside, and Whetu took one of Tashiro’s hands and quickly embraced him.  
  
“I have no idea what’s she’s going to do to you.” Whetu admitted, “but you’d better make damn sure she obeys me, alright?”  
  
“My word.” Tashiro placed one hand over his heart. “That dragon will obey your command to the strictest detail.”  
  
Finally, Whetu stood back and commanded Toa Tangaroa to untie the Silver Dragon. Moving cautiously, the warrior removed the ropes binding Noriko, grabbed her by the arm, and steered her towards Whetu.  
  
“Listen to me closely.” Whetu said. “I will give you Tashiro Kopunui, on the condition that you turn your magic against King Inari’s army. Destroy his soldiers and leave none alive to resist my own warriors. Do you understand?”  
  
Noriko hesitated.  
  
“Just the warriors, right?” She said meekly. “Please, Queen, you’ve got to understand that these are my own people you’re talking about. I have friends and family…”  
  
“The warriors.” Whetu insisted. “Samurai, their lords, and their subordinates. Every man in the army that fights for Inari. Am I clear?”  
  
Noriko finally nodded.  
  
“Yes, your Majesty.”  
  
Then Whetu allowed Tashiro to approach the Silver Dragon. He put both of his hands to his sides and bent forward in a respectful bow.  
  
“Forgive me, great dragon.” Tashiro said. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do for you now.”  
  
Noriko looked around at the gathered Partogans and Levakians.  
  
“Tell your army to retreat to the west.” She said. “That’s the direction I’m going to come from.”  
  
Then she walked right up to Tashiro and put her arms around his neck. Pulling his face down to her level, Noriko kissed Tashiro on the mouth. They held the awkward embrace for less than a second. Tashiro seized Noriko about the middle and lifted her up to return the kiss. In that moment, only Whetu, who was standing off to the side, could see what happened next.  
  
Noriko removed her right hand from Tashiro’s neck, brought it around and plunged her hand down the front of her own robe, moving her hand from left to right as though she was searching for something. The passionate kiss drew so much attention, however, that this strange movement only held Whetu’s eyes for a moment before she returned to observing the lip-lock.  
  
There was the softest, most barely audible _“click.”_  
  
Then, a wall of light seemed to open wide between Whetu and the intertwined couple! It widened with a low _hiss_ -ing sound before growing large enough for Tashiro and Noriko to step into. The “wall” was semitransparent and tinged a slight purple color. Whetu, Tohunga Nixie, and Jira all jumped back in alarm as this rectangle of purple light just hovered in midair, making a loud _hum-hum-hum_ noise. Tashiro released Noriko and looked over his shoulder, just in time to see the wall of light lurching towards him! Tohunga Nixie screamed as the wall of purple light swallowed Tashiro and Noriko whole! With another _hiss_ , the wall of light shrunk down to miniscule size and vanished.  
  
Both of the Toa dropped their spears. Tohunga Nixie fell to her knees and started praying. The Levakians crouched low, ears down and tails between their legs. Whetu’s arms and legs were shaking, she was so stunned by what had just happened. Finally, she found her words again.  
  
“W-west!” She gasped. “Dragon’s coming from the west. Everyone spread the word! The whole army needs to break off the fight and fall back!”  
  
Quaxo was the first to shake off the shock. He scrambled off into the tall grass, followed by Toa Tangaroa and Toa Kai. Jira looked like he couldn’t decide if he wanted to spread the warning about the incoming dragon or pick a fight with Whetu about her claim to be “the master around here.” He reluctantly decided to deal with Whetu’s transgression later, and loped away.  
  
Whetu herself stared at the spot where Noriko and Tashiro had vanished for another few moments. The whole situation was so bizarre that she couldn’t help but wonder if Noriko had somehow bewitched her and everyone else.  
  
…  
  
It took only a few minutes to call off Whetu’s army and get them to disengage from the fight. After nearly a whole day of fighting, everybody was simply too exhausted to continue fighting. Weapons at their sides, tired Snowskins simply watched the Partogans and Levakians leave before turning to have one final bout amongst themselves. Whetu and her company reconvened on a nearby hilltop just as the sun started to go down, watching the two Snowskin factions finally disentangle from each other and begin to recover their dead. While Whetu’s Partogan allies laid down on the grass around her, chatting and discussing the day’s events, Whetu noticed that all of the Levakian members of her company were now keeping their distance from her. Jira in particular kept shooting dark looks at Whetu out of the corner of his eye, and Demeter kept her back turned to the Queen at all times…  
  
At least, until a few minutes after the sun dipped below the horizon.  
  
The two halves of the Snowskin army had finally stopped fighting and were settling down for the night, making camp with what little remained of their supplies. Then, a dull roar began to sound from the west. Nearly fifteen-hundred Partogans and Levakians turned their attention to the skies as the roar became as loud as an oncoming tornado!  
  
Then a shiny object appeared in the night sky. It seemed to scream loudly as it approached. Just when it seemed like the Silver Dragon was about to fly directly over their heads, hundreds of bright streaks of orange light separated from the fast-moving point of light and descended towards the Snowskin camps! Accompanying this rain of fire was a new noise, unlike any sound Whetu had ever heard before in her life:  
  
 _Brrrt! Brrrt! Brrrt!  
  
_ The deep buzzing sound had barely finished echoing off the Unnamed Mountain when the hail of fire struck the Snowskin camp! Each time a bold of yellow-orange light strike the enemy camp, there was an explosion of light and sound and debris! Bodies and wreckage flew into the skies before crashing back down to the ground below!  
  
To the cheers and celebration of the Partogans and Levakians, the Silver Dragon flew in a low circle above the two Snowskin camps, raining hellish fire down upon the enemy until the smoke rising up from the scene obscured the view entirely. Finally the Silver Dragon ended her attack and started flying west again. This time, she flew so low over the ground that Whetu and her companions could plainly see the black and white scales that formed the dragon’s underbelly. Toa Enoka pointed up at the trail of smoke and flame that followed the Silver Dragon across the sky, and Tohunga Nixie waved as the Dragon dipped its right wing low towards the ground, acknowledging the cheering army below.  
  
In the midst of all this celebration, Toa Enoka felt a poke on his shoulder. Whetu gave him a great big smile.  
  
“You know, I don’t think I ever thanked you.” She said.  
  
“For what?” Toa Enoka asked.  
  
“You put me to a vote, remember?” Whetu asked. “People raised their hands and said they wanted me to be Queen, but for the first time… I actually felt like one today. Like I was actually a ruler. And you know what, I’m glad you did that. Makes me feel like I actually… oh what’s the word?”  
  
“You feel like you actually earned this?” Toa Enoka suggested.  
  
Whetu snapped her fingers.  
  
“Yeah, that’s it.” She finished. “So, yeah. You’ve got my thanks… and my forgiveness, too.”  
  
Sharing a hug, Toa Enoka and Queen Whetu watched the Silver Dragon vanish into the darkening western skies together.


	13. A Cold Light Dawns

The next morning, the true scale of the death and destruction could be seen. Both of the enemy encampments were not just razed to the ground, they were wiped off the face of the world. All that remained was charred earth and a few burned remains. Even the bodies of the enemy were torn asunder and left unrecognizable. Partogans and Levakians spent almost the entirety of the following day sifting through the wreckage for anything useful. Tragically, the Silver Dragon had done her work a little too well. Anything that might have been worthy of the Partogan’s attention was left a pile of ash.  
  
As for the dragon herself, she never came back. The last time anybody saw her, Noriko flew low over what remained of the Shrine and upon seeing the damage done to it by the Unnamed Mountain two night ago, started flying north, towards the distant opposing shoreline of Lake Naho. This caused no small amount of upset for certain members of the Queen’s company.  
  
“Well, what good is a dragon you can only order around once!?” Toa Taki proclaimed indignantly. “Mira went through all of that trouble and now there’s nothing to show for it!”  
  
Toa Mira was still in bad shape. Despite her best efforts, Tohunga Nixie was unable to prevent the Zivon venom from causing permanent damage. She used a concoction of potions and tonics provided by Quaxo and other Gifted Lions to contain the damage. By the start of the following day, Toa Mira was able to stand again, but she was permanently changed. Toa Mira was now blind in her left eye and her left hand was weakened to the point she could no longer hold a large weapon with it. When Toa Mira finally rejoined her comrades, she seemed to move even slower than what they were used to.  
  
Not that the army was going anywhere today.  
  
Once the remains of the Snowskin camp were picked clean, a much more pressing issue presented itself. There was no food. The wagon train, whose precious edible cargo had precipitated the entire battle, was empty. If the story told by Toa Mira and Anathi was to be believed, the Snowskin army never received that shipment of food, and were led to believe the Partogans had captured it. Neither side won this battle. And at long last, after two weeks of fighting, the Partogan-Levakian army was in serious danger of running out of food.  
  
The women and children who made up the camp followers tried to scavenge and forage the surrounding area for anything that could sustain the army, but the only food source of any value was Lake Naho itself, and most people were now too frightened to go near it. The Silver Dragon’s claim to be the daughter of the Lake God was sufficient enough to intimidate most Partogans and Levakians.  
  
When she visited the Rangatira who were organizing the camp followers, Whetu learned that the army only had enough food to continue for three days. Five if the remaining stockpile was rationed. Levakians would start dying in less than a week. Partogans would starve to death before completing the two-week return trip to Candon.  
  
And now Whetu and her company found themselves with a dilemma. The Snowskin army was wiped out, their camp destroyed. And after half a month of adventuring and fighting, the army did not have enough food to sustain itself, let alone the city of Candon.  
  
When the Queen’s company convened around a campfire that night, there was an intense argument. It started when Toa Enoka delivered his report on the food situation:  
  
“All of the fruits are spoiled. No more berries or melons. Vegetables are wilting, but they’re not rotten yet. Fresh beef and fish are both gone. We’re going to run out of salted beef in two days.”  
  
Demeter and Anathi let out low growls.  
  
“At this rate, Levakians are going to start dropping in about four days.” Toa Ihu guessed. “Perhaps we should take our chances with that lake.”  
  
“No!” Jira said. “You heard what Anathi said, that lake is under the protection of an enemy deity. To approach that water is to court death.”  
  
The old lion stood up and began to pace back and forth.  
  
“It is clear to me that the army is no longer capable of continuing this expedition, we must turn around and return to Candon immediately.”  
  
Whetu stood up to respond, but roughly half of the company beat her to it. Toa Enoka, Toa Taki, and Toa Tangaroa loudly opposed Jira’s statement.  
  
“If we go back now, we’ll only hasten the deaths of our families and friends!” Toa Taki snapped at Jira. “There’s no food back home!”  
  
“The Empress and Rangatira we left behind would be well within their rights to kill and eat us.” Toa Kai pointed out. “We would be returning in failure!”  
  
“We’ve already failed!” Hysperia roared. “Look around! Almost five-hundred of our own are dead with neither spoils nor prizes to show for their sacrifice. We are exhausted, and we don’t know if the food in that caravan even exists anymore, let alone where it might be if it did.”  
  
The company was split. The Partogans wanted to press on and continue the search, while Jira and the Levakians were ready to call it quits and go home. Even Demeter and Quaxo, who had once been so supportive of Queen Whetu, took Jira’s side in a rebuke that stung Whetu’s pride.  
  
“We have seen no proof that the enemy consumed or destroyed the food.” Toa Mira said. “Such a mass of fruits and vegetables and meat… evidence would have been left behind if it was cooked and eaten. We have found no such thing. We must press on until it is found.”  
  
Quaxo shook his mane in frustration.  
  
“I agree that we must press on. It is our duty.” He said. “But Queen, you must acknowledge that this army is no longer capable of pressing on. If we go any further, none of us will return.”  
  
“Don’t you hear what you’re saying!?” Toa Taki replied. “You’re just gonna go home and wait to die? Is that it!? You’re giving up?”  
  
“Taki, old friend.” Demeter said. “This isn’t working anymore. All we can do now is hold out until next year’s harvest, and let the fisherpeople ply the coast.”  
  
“We do that and most of us will be dead this time next year!” Toa Enoka snapped. “We have to keep going!”  
  
“Go where?” Anathi asked. “If any Snowskins escaped this disaster the most certainly covered their tracks on the way out, and the smell of ash and sulfur is so powerful that we can smell nothing else. There is no trail to follow, no stragglers to pursue, no maps to consult. We are one turn away from being lost in enemy territory at the foot of a very vengeful mountain. I don’t see any possible way we can recover from this situation, Enoka. Do you!?”  
  
Toa Enoka opened his mouth to reply, but then hesitated, struggling to choose his words. Whetu felt a painful feeling in her gut. She wasn’t sure if it was hunger or fear. From where she was standing, it looked like both sides had valid arguments. The army needed to press on in its search for food, but it was plainly clear that all options were finally exhausted.  
  
If they returned home, everyone would starve to death.  
  
If they continued on, everyone would starve to death.  
  
When it became clear that the argument was going in circles, Tohunga Nixie intervened.  
  
“Whetu is the Queen. She should make the final decision.”  
  
Jira rounded on Whetu.  
  
“And you!” he growled. “I would do well to remind you that you are a vassal of the Empress of Levakia. I am the King of her pride and carry her authority-”  
  
But before Jira could finish his sentence, several Partogans interrupted, all contradicting him.  
  
“Whetu speaks with the Empresses’ voice!” Tohunga Nixie shouted. “That’s what the Empress said!”  
  
“Don’t you dare try to subvert the Queen’s authority like that!” Toa Makani threatened. “We were there, lion. We all know who the Empress put in charge!”  
  
Whetu finally raised her voice.  
  
“Quiet!”  
  
Both arguing groups fell silent and turned to look at her.  
  
“Look, no matter what we end up doing, we’re going to be in serious trouble.” Whetu told her company. “We’re going to run out of food no matter what we do, so let’s figure out how we’re all going to survive first.”  
  
“We’re going to do that as well.” Jira growled. “But we’re going to walk at the same time. Daughters, come!”  
  
Demeter and Hysperia slunk along behind Jira, tails low. They shot mournful looks at Whetu before they were followed into the darkness by Anathi and Quaxo. Seeing her Levakian comrades go sapped Whetu of most of her willpower, and she sat down beside the fire, about to cry. Toa Enoka, Taki and Mira all huddled together around her in a big group hug.  
  
“What are we gonna do?” Whetu asked her friends. “We can’t just sit here and wait to die.”  
  
Nobody had an answer. What remained of the Queen’s company sat in defeated silence as the cold night pressed in around them. Their campfire flickered and waned, slowly dying.  
  
But then, just as a brilliant field of stars became visible in the dark skies above, someone shook Whetu’s shoulder and she looked up.  
  
“I think my eyes are still damaged.” Toa Mira said. “Can anyone else see that thing on the hillside?”  
  
One by one, everybody turned their gaze towards the nearby slopes of the Unnamed Mountain. Something very peculiar was happening. A shimmering pillar of flames wrapped itself around something standing upright in the volcano-ravaged landscape… something vaguely shaped like a Partogan.  
  
Whetu’s mouth went dry. It was just as when they had first met a couple weeks ago.  
  
The Goddess of Fire, Mahuika, pulled her cloak of flames around her shoulders and then turned away from the Partogan camp. She started to slowly ascend the mountain. Each of her footprints burned and smoldered in the dirt and ash.  
  
“W… W-wait!” Whetu shouted.  
  
She launched herself forward, leaping over what remained of the campfire. She ran at full speed, careening through the army camp as puzzled warriors looked on. Most of the Queen’s company followed behind her as best they could. Mahuika had a head start, but she was moving at a pace worthy of Toa Mira.  
  
Beneath Whetu’s feet, the ground began to steadily incline. Huffing and puffing, Whetu felt her legs burning with the effort of keeping up a pace that could overtake Mahuika. She was forced to stop running when there was a sudden outburst of shouting started up behind her.  
  
A wall of blue and purple flames had erupted along the mountainside, separating Whetu from all of her friends! Toa Taki tried to run through the barrier, but the supernatural fire grew so hot and tall that she was forced to retreat, her bangs on fire. Toa Mira tried to use her own magic to bypass the obstacle, by after a few moments, she cried out in frustration. Tohunga Nixie caught up with the group and stopped Toa Enoka from making his own attempt to jump the wall of blue fire.  
  
“It is not your place!” Nixie yelled. “Whetu is the Goddess’ chosen warrior. We are not permitted to follow.”  
  
Catching her sister’s eyes through the fire, Tohunga Nixie gave Whetu an encouraging smile.  
  
“Go on, Mahuika is waiting.”  
  
Turning away from her friends, Whetu saw that the Goddess had indeed paused in her journey up the mountain, and was looking down on her. Mahuika was highly visible, she stood in front of a column of smoke rising from the summit of the mountain, the only obstruction on an otherwise clear sky.  
  
The Goddess of Fire raised one hand in front of her. Even at this distance, Whetu could see that there was a solitary flame burning at the tip of each finger. With the opposite hand, Mahuika plucked one of the flames off her finger and threw it down the mountainside towards Whetu. The small spark struck the ground and erupted into a new shape. Whetu remembered the legends her father taught her and recognized what this thing was supposed to be. This new shape was one of the Fire Children. According to legend, Māui the trickster stole one of the Fire Children and gave it to men, unlocking the once-secret knowledge of firemaking.  
  
The Fire-Child, wearing a skirt of embers that illuminated the space around her, gently took Whetu by the hand and guided her up the mountainside, towards Mahuika. With her divine aid, Whetu felt like she was advancing up the mountain far faster than she would have in any other circumstances. Beneath her feet, the terrain became steeper and rougher, until finally, Whetu and the Fire-Child reached their destination.  
  
Mahuika was sitting on a large rock formation that overlooked the northern slope and the lands beyond it. Behind her, water was slowly pouring from a spring into the rocky basin. At a glance, Whetu could see that this water was very hot, probably just short of boiling.  
  
The Goddess of Fire did not invite Whetu to sit beside her. Instead, she spoke directly to Whetu.  
  
“Fourteen days ago, you swore an oath upon my flame that you would return a bounty of food to your family, friends, and neighbors in the city by the shore. Do you intend to keep that promise?”  
  
“Yes.” Whetu replied.  
  
Mahuika stood and glared at Whetu in a way that made the young Queen look down at her feet. The Fire Goddess pointed one burning finger to the west.  
  
“Only a few Levakians shall return alive to Candon.” Mahuika said. “They will start a series of events that will only end when twelve generations of your people have come and gone. At the end, the Levakians will become the next great enemy of the Partogan people.”  
  
“Levakians!?” Whetu gasped. “But… why!? I thought…”  
  
Whetu’s mind must not have been working right. She couldn’t… just couldn’t comprehend a world in which Partogans and Levakians were enemies. Demeter? Quaxo? Would they really turn against her like that?  
  
“No.” Whetu’s voice warbled. “I don’t believe you. Hysperia, Anathi. Those Levakians are my friends.”  
  
“Yes, they are.” Mahuika confirmed. “But because Jira and others like him, their descendants will grow to hate you and your kind. This resentment will eventually lead to violence between Partogans and Levakians in the distant future.”  
  
Whetu balled up her fists in anger.  
  
“Why are you telling me?” she asked.  
  
“Because you have an opportunity to change the future.” Mahuika replied. “Those of us who perform the divine dance in the skies have seen that the course of history will hinge upon what you do tomorrow, during the last battle.”  
  
Mahuika stepped forward and pointed one burning finger down the slope. Whetu looked and saw something incredible looming out of the darkness.  
  
Just to the east of the Partogan army’s camp, about a quarter of a day’s journey away, the ground was split open. It looked as though a Samurai had taken his sword and stabbed the world itself. The canyon was so narrow in some places that a Partogan could jump across, yet so mind-numbingly deep that Whetu couldn’t see the bottom. The canyon ran from east to west, and on its southern side, Whetu spotted something else.  
  
There was a fortress.  
  
Built with its gates facing toward the Unnamed Mountain, a wall of wood and stone encircled a large complex of Snowskin buildings. Towers overlooked the surrounding region, while a simple dirt road led further east where, just on the horizon, Whetu could make out the tops of buildings. The skyline of a distant city. Mahuika must have enhanced Whetu’s vision, because she could see innumerable numbers of people fleeing toward this fortress, carrying bundles and packages under their arms.  
  
“Inari and his surviving warriors have fled to this stronghold.” Mahuika said. “There is sufficient food and water inside to sustain all Partogans and Levakians for over a year, but to acquire it, you must command your army to attack the stronghold before dawn. You will rouse your men and lead them to the battle this very night.”  
  
“And if I do this,” Whetu asked hopefully, “Will it stop the Levakians from turning on us?”  
  
“No.” Mahuika replied. “You will save their lives, many of them. But the damage has already been done. The choice you must make now is how the battle between Partogans and Levakians will end many centuries from now. Will there be peace between your two peoples? Or shall your descendants wipe out all Levakians, down to the last cub?”  
  
“Wipe them out!?” Whetu repeated in horror. “No! No! The Levakians are my friends! I want peace! Of course I do!”  
  
Mahuika nodded, and although the cloak of flames made it difficult to read her facial expressions, Whetu was sure she saw the Fire Goddess smile.  
  
“Listen to me, Queen.” Mahuika said. “You will not receive the future you seek simply because you asked for it. A price must be paid, as is with all things.”  
  
Oh, no. Not again. Whetu felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had just gone through this with the Silver Dragon, but this time, she was dealing with an actual God. She knew full well what the alternative was going to be, and Whetu was deeply convinced that no matter what grievances they had, the Levakians did not deserve extinction.  
  
“Fine.” Whetu said. “What do I have to do?”  
  
…  
  
About an hour later, Toa Taki, Enoka, Mira and their comrades were still waiting by the wall of blue fire for Whetu’s return. Tohunga Nixie passed the time by pacing along the slope, looking up at the night sky and watching the stars. As the time passed, the Tohunga looked less and less confident. Her expression darkened and her mood became glum. Toa Makani kept his eyes on the summit of the Unnamed Mountain, where the pillar of dark smoke seemed to be dissipating at last.  
  
“There!” Toa Ihu shouted, pointing at the mountainside.  
  
At the same moment Whetu was seen descending the Mountain, the blue fire finally extinguished itself, allowing the Queen’s company to race up the incline to meet her. Toa Enoka’s smile fell when he realized Whetu was wearing a similar expression to that of her sister.  
  
“What happened?” he asked. “What did Mahuika say?”  
  
As the Queen’s company gathered around her, Whetu looked at each Toa in turn, then spoke in a grim tone of voice.  
  
“By this time tomorrow, the war will be over. We’ll have enough food to keep all of our friends and family alive for a year.”  
  
Everybody cheered and shouted for joy,  
  
“Mahuika said that I must follow her instructions precisely.” Whetu went on. “If I do so, then all our troubles will be over.”  
  
“Excellent!” Toa Taki squeaked with anticipation. “So, come on, what’s first?”  
  
All of Whetu’s friends were looking at her with boundless cheer and excitement. Whetu knew she was about to break several hearts, and it broke her own to do this.  
  
“Toa Enoka, Toa Taki, and Toa Mira.”  
  
Whetu’s three oldest friends, who had been with her since the beginning, stepped forward. The Queen took a deep breath and said:  
  
“Go home.”  
  
The cheerful atmosphere died away instantly. Tears ran down Toa Taki’s cheeks and she gripped onto her older brother’s shoulders.  
  
“Wait… what?” Toa Makani asked. “Why?”  
  
“The three of you need to race back to Candon as quickly as you can.” Whetu explained. “Get the Empress, the Rangatira, any Levakian Kings who will listen to you. Tell them that everybody in Candon needs to meet the army at the Valley Where the Wind Blows Loudly.”  
  
“What? Everybody You mean the whole city?” Toa Enoka gasped.  
  
“Yes, the whole city.” Whetu confirmed. “Every man, woman, child, lion, lioness, and cub. No matter how old or how healthy, everybody needs to come this way. When this is all over, Candon won’t be any place to live, and there will be a better home waiting for us in the east. The three of you need to travel together, with your weapons. There will be Snowskins blocking the way.”  
  
Then Whetu rounded on Toa Makani.  
  
“Take everyone else and wake up the army. Tell them we’re moving out at once, and that they need to prepare for a dawn attack. We’re going to storm a Snowskin fortress. I’ll show the way. Go, now!”  
  
Toa Makani, Kai, Makura, Tangaroa, and Ihu all nodded before running back down the slope and into camp. They banged on tentpoles and shouted loudly, rousing the warriors. Finally, Whetu turned to Nixie. Whetu’s older sister was already looking alarmed before all of this happened, now she appeared to be genuinely upset.  
  
“Whetu-” Nixie started to protest.  
  
“Don’t.” Whetu cut her off. “These words are Mahuika’s, not mine. She knows what you saw in the stars tonight. You cannot, _you will not_ , tell anybody about what you saw until the battle is over. Do not tell anyone’s futures today. Not even mine, or any member of the company. You stay silent until it’s all over, got it?”  
  
Tohunga Nixie whimpered, then hung her head in silent compliance. Toa Enoka, Mira, and Taki all looked at Whetu with a mixture of fear and hurt. Finally, the Queen’s expression softened.  
  
“I’m sorry it has to be this way.” Whetu said in a calmer voice. “I really am. This is the only way we can end this whole adventure in a good way, a good way for most of us. I don’t want to hurt any of you… I just… I just…”  
  
Whetu seemed to run out of words. After a moment, Toa Mira came forward and hugged her.  
  
“You are not just anyone.” Toa Mira said. “You are the Queen. You carry a burden heavier than we could know. But you are still my friend, and I will trust you.”  
  
A moment later, Enoka, Taki, and Nixie joined in. Nobody wanted to let go of the others, and when they finally did, it was with the most extreme reluctance. Whetu pointed towards the northeastern horizon.  
  
“I’ll show you where you need to bring the people of Candon.” Whetu said. “But you need to leave before sunrise if you’re going to make it in time.”  
  
Whetu, Enoka, Taki, and Mira left together on one final short journey. Tohunga Nixie quietly slunk away in the opposite direction, consumed by her own fear and terror. As her sister vanished into the darkness alongside her three friends, Tohunga Nixie turned her attention towards the night sky once more, just to confirm the dark portents she’d seen.  
  
High above the spot where tomorrow’s battle would occur, two stars drew closer and closer together. A red star and a white star approached one another slowly as the night drew on. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of agonizing anticipation, the two heavenly points of light converged, becoming the largest and brightest star in the night sky.  
  
Māui, the trickster demigod, had come into perfect alignment with Whiro, the God of Evil.


	14. The Valley Where the Wind blows Loudly

Toa Enoka, Mira, and Taki started their journey about four hours before sunrise. Queen Whetu walked with them for a short distance, giving a final explanation on how to find their way back.  
  
“Don’t go any further north than the shoreline of Lake Naho.” Whetu said. “Otherwise you’ll be on the wrong side of the canyon. When you get back out here, make camp by the place where the Silver Dragon killed the Snowskin army and wait for nightfall. The Tamihana Toa are going to leave a trail of Lightstones for you to follow. Once you see it, the Snowskin fortress will be a day’s journey away.”  
  
“By then, the battle will be over, right?” Toa Taki asked.  
  
“With Mahuika’s help, it should be over before the next sunset.” Whetu replied, “But the Goddess said that time is of the essence. The people of Candon must go on the move as quickly as possible if Partogans and Levakians are to survive.”  
  
“Why?” Toa Mira asked. “What’s going to happen?”  
  
Whetu pointed up at the Unnamed Mountain.  
  
“See how the winds are blowing to the west?” she said. “Mahuika told me that the Mountain’s fury did more than just kill the land of Levakia. It’s permanently changing the weather all over the world, and there are more changes to come. The nights will be even colder than they are now, and all of the area around Candon will dry up. That lakebed we crossed will turn into a desert, then it’ll grow larger over time, spreading out to all of the surrounding region. Before too long, Mahuika says that the only way to reach Candon will be to sail around the southern coast.”  
  
“So anyone living in Candon will be stuck there.” Toa Enoka reiterated. “That’s bad. Don’t worry, Whetu. We’ll be back before you know it. Just don’t hog all of the food to yourself, alright?”  
  
“Hog all the food?” Whetu let out a snort and a laugh. “Mark my words, old friend. When you and the people reunite with the army, there’s going to be a big feast for everyone.”  
  
Whetu hugged her friends one last time, then gave each of them a small Lightstone from the pockets of her leather armor.  
  
“Come back quickly, okay?” She finished. “We’ll be waiting for you all.”  
  
Under the light of the stars, Toa Enoka, Mira, and Taki set off, heading back the way they came. All three of them looked back occasionally as they crossed the steppe. Each time they looked back, they saw the shimmering beacon of a single Lightstone from atop a hill. Whetu watched her friends go until they were completely out of sight.  
  
…  
  
The return trip to Candon would be significantly shorter than the two-week journey to come this far, but it would still take several days. All the while, the trio were tormented by a special kind of pain. Not exhaustion or hunger or thirst, but the knowledge that the great battle, which sealed the fates of themselves, Whetu, and all Partogans and Levakians had been fought just after the sun rose on the first day of their journey.  
  
When the sun rose over the horizon, Toa Mira took to walking more slowly, straining her ears to hear any kind of noise, but the battlefield was too far away. Toa Taki couldn’t bring herself to look back. She just kept pressing on, keeping her eyes towards the distant river and Snowskin village where the first battle had been fought not that long ago. Toa Enoka, like his comrades, marched on in silence. He was trying to think about anything besides what must be happening behind them.  
  
But they got a reminder.  
  
Sometime around noon, the Unnamed Mountain let out a great noise, launching flames and sparks into the sky. By now, the three Toa were too far away to be in any real danger, but Toa Mira spoke what the others were thinking.  
  
“Mahuika has uttered the final word. It must be over.”  
  
Hearts heavy, the Toa made camp for the night at the river, half a day’s journey upstream from the village of the battle against Lord Tokugawa. They ate jerky and drank a little water. No one spoke, lest their nerves and anxiety cause someone to vomit. Missing out on the final battle was a painful thing to accept, even if they were doing so to save lives, it still felt somehow wrong.  
  
The next day, the Toa were hampered by a severe ashfall. Grey flakes tumbled from the sky and piled up on the ground like snow. The air was so saturated that all three Toa had trouble breathing and had to use their weapons as walking sticks. The few people left in the Snowskin village either fled or took shelter from the volcanic storm. Around them, the trees and grasses drooped low under the weight of the ashes. Smaller tress broke like twigs and fell over. Before midday, Toa Mira could look behind her and see where she had been thanks to three sets of footprints behind her.  
  
The ashfall did do one good thing, however. Just before the sun fell on the second day, the trio started to approach the burned out forest. Just before they took shelter beneath a large old tree for the night, Toa Enoka spotted another set of footprints in the ashes.  
  
“Look at the pattern.” Toa Enoka said. “These are the types of boots worn by Samurai warriors.”  
  
“How many do you think?” Toa Taki asked  
  
Toa Enoka paced back and forth, counting each set of prints.  
  
“Five, maybe six of them.” He reported. “They’re heading towards the burned forest, just like us. Towards Candon.”  
  
There was no choice. Whetu made clear the importance of speed in this mission. The next day, the three Toa set out for the charred forest, following the path laid out before them by the enemy. Toa Taki in particular did not want to re-enter the forest, which was even darker now that the sun was hidden behind dark ash clouds.  
  
Toa Enoka led the way. He said that he remembered the forest well, and that finding the dried-up lake on the other side would be no problem at all. Once more, the trio advanced through the ruined wilderness. They moved at a much faster pace than the Partogan-Levakian army as a whole, mostly because three individuals will always move faster than a great host of warriors, which requires coordination.  
  
It took so long for the trio to pass through the forest that when they stopped near a charred copse of trees to eat the last of their jerky, Toa Taki became alarmed.  
  
“I don’t remember it taking this long.” Taki said. “We showed up in the afternoon that day, didn’t we?”  
  
“Yeah,” Toa Enoka agreed. “We made camp for the night, and next day, we were out of the forest before noon.”  
  
“Something is very wrong.” Toa Mira concurred. “We should have emerged from the forest by now. We moved much faster than before.”  
  
Toa Enoka gave his spear to Toa Taki and climbed the nearest tree. Scrambling up to the highest branches he could reach, he looked around for any familiar landmarks. After a moment, he swore loudly.  
  
“What is it!?” Toa Taki called up to him. “What do you see?”  
  
“That big tree in the clearing Mahuika set on fire when we came through earlier!” Toa Enoka replied as he came down. He cursed again. “I’m such an idiot, I led us too far north, and now we’re going the wrong way.”  
  
He pointed his spear in the direction behind Toa Taki and to her right.  
  
“We need to go that way.” He said.  
  
The trio set out again, but not before Toa Taki laughed out loud:  
  
“Did you just admit you were wrong about something? Who are you and what have you done with Toa Enoka Ihaka?”  
  
Now confident they were moving in the right direction, the trio began to speed up, racing through the charred undergrowth, snapping and cracking twigs as they went. Even Toa Mira was moving at a faster pace.  
  
“We’ll keep going until we reach the water hole in the lakebed.” Toa Taki said. “If we start from there tomorrow morning, we’ll reach Candon by the end of the next day!”  
  
“That is good.” Toa Mira panted. “We will have plenty of time to-”  
  
But she never finished her sentence. The sudden silence caused both Toa Enoka and Taki to stop walking and look around. Toa Mira came to a full stop near a thick shrub that had only just begun to re-grow. There, standing on the other side of the dark green leaves and looking completely surprised…  
  
 _Was a Samurai warrior, dressed in full battle gear and carrying a sword.  
  
_ Nobody said anything. Instinctively, without thinking, all three Toa burst into a run while the Snowskin behind them shouted:  
  
“Watashi wa karera o mitsuketa!”  
  
“Run!” Toa Enoka yelled! “Head for the lake!”  
  
Clutching their spears tightly, three Partogans scrambled through the forest, all sense of direction forgotten. Escape was the only thing on their minds as the sound of footsteps and yelling grew louder behind them.  
  
Then, they were suddenly out of the forest!  
  
The wide-open lakebed stretched out before them, the former island and tiny water hole the only landmarks of any real note. But just when it seemed like the trio were home free, Toa Taki let out a despairing scream.  
  
“More of them!”  
  
Toa Enoka saw where she was pointing. There were three fabric tents near the water hole, and a flurry of movement near them told Toa Enoka that he and his friends were about to be attacked from the front as well as from behind. He raised his spear and turned back toward the forest, shouting over his shoulder:  
  
“Mira! Go on ahead!”  
  
When Toa Mira hesitated, he added;  
  
“Taki and I will draw them off. You go on ahead and get to Candon! Use that skill of yours.”  
  
Toa Mira drew her spear and stood beside Toa Taki and Enoka, staring down the oncoming Samurai.  
  
“I will not leave you here!” She declared. “I will not abandon you!”  
  
Three Samurai warriors erupted from the treeline and descended upon the Partogans! Toa Taki, Mira, and Enoka all thrust their spears forward, keeping the enemy at a distance where their swords were useless. Each Snowskin started trying to outmaneuver the trio, to deflect their spears and close in for the kill. Toa Enoka darted to one side and swung his spear low, sweeping one of the Samurai off his feet!  
  
“Mira! You’ve got to go!” Toa Taki shrieked, stepping back to dodge another sword attack. “Neither of us can outrun these Snowskins like you can!”  
  
One of the Samurai got around Toa Mira and brought his blade down on Toa Taki! Blood sprayed from a gash in her arm! Screaming, Toa Taki whipped around and lunged her spear so hard that both the tip and part of the shaft got buried in the man’s neck! Meanwhile, Toa Enoka had failed to finish off his opponent. The tip of his spear couldn’t penetrate Samurai armor. Standing back to back, the three Partogans held the defensive while two remaining Samurai circled them, swinging their swords at even the smallest of openings.  
  
Now three more Samurai were approaching from the lakebed, swords at the ready. In a moment of true terror, Toa Mira realized that one of them was carrying a spear, far longer than the ones used by the Partogans.  
  
“We’re about to get pinned!” Toa Enoka yelled. “Mira! It’s now or never! You’ve got to deliver Whetu’s message to Candon!”  
  
“I will not leave you!” Toa Mira was defiant.  
  
“It’s not about us anymore!” Toa Taki struck one of the Samurai with her spear, forcing him to retreat. “Everyone’s counting on you now!”  
  
Still, Toa Mira refused to leave. She was unwilling, point blank, to leave her friends to their fates while she alone survived. She didn’t want to live with herself after doing something like that, and would much rather die than do so. Voicing her thoughts aloud, Toa Mira said:  
  
“I will not leave you alone!”  
  
The reply came from neither Toa Enoka nor Toa Mira. The reply to Toa Mira’s words came in the form of a great roar!  
  
“THEY ARE NOT ALONE!”  
  
Two huge forms leapt from the tall grass on what was once the lakeshore and ambushed the three Snowskins racing uphill to join the fight! Demeter and Hysperia tore into the Samurai with their teeth and claws, growling and snarling viciously the whole time.  
  
“No way!” Toa Taki shouted. “You’re back! What about Jira!?”  
  
“Difference of opinion!” Demeter replied. “He’s walking home with a limp!”  
  
“It was all her idea!” Hysperia confirmed. “Toa Mira! Go! Now’s your chance!”  
  
Her fears abated, Toa Mira finally agreed to relent. She paused only briefly to put one hand on Toa Taki’s shoulder.  
  
“Get to Candon.” Toa Taki said. “We’ll meet you halfway!”  
  
Ducking beneath a spear and a sword, Toa Mira separated herself from the escalating fight behind her and threw her own spear over her shoulder. Guiding it with just a little of her own magic, the barbed end of the weapon nosedived towards the ground and impaled one of the Samurai warrior’s feet, pinning him to the ground just long enough for Toa Taki to recover the spear and deliver a follow-up attack!  
  
Toa Mira focused her gaze on the distant horizon, aiming roughly for where she remembered Candon to be. Then, tuning out the fighting and shouting behind her, Toa Mira put one foot in front of the other as slowly as she could. Less than a second later, Toa Mira was outside of the city gates.  
  
…  
  
The City of Candon had fallen into serious disrepair. So much that the town gate was partially collapsed when Toa Mira passed through it. Funeral pyres crackled and sizzled, sending dark smoke into the skies above, while a general sense of mourning filled the air. Very few Partogans and Levakians took note of Toa Mira as she raced through the streets.  
  
Perhaps it was some extension of her own magic, but the young warrior knew exactly where she needed to go. She navigated the unkempt roads, ducked and dodged around despondent people and soon came to the center of town. What Toa Mira found there took all of the energy out of her stride.  
  
The communal firepit was converted into a funeral pyre. Rangatira, Kings, and other assorted commonfolk were gathered around it. Unlike all of the other cremations taking place around the city, there was only a single person being put to rest here.  
  
In death, the Empress of Levakia looked to be at peace. Her body, claimed by starvation, seemed to be so bony and emaciated that it was a miracle she hadn’t broken into pieces at the slightest touch. The old Empress was laid to rest at the exact moment both Toa Mira and three others arrived on the scene.  
  
Jira had only just arrived himself. He looked very badly battered, and there was blood running from a wound on his face. Ehen he saw the mother of his cubs being lain on the pyre by Partogans, he fell to the ground and wept openly. Like the Empress, Jira, Anathi, and Quaxo were withering away under the pressures of starvation. Sarda Kealoha, the eldest Rangatira left in the city, spotted all four of the new arrivals and addressed them.  
  
“As if our tragic hour could not be heartbreaking enough, four of our warriors return from the expedition into Snowskin lands. Surely you must bring some other ill-tidings?”  
  
Before Toa Mira could speak, Jira replied:  
  
“We bring only news of failure, old friend.” Jira began. “The lands of the Snowskins are picked clean, and the enemy himself is so dangerous and formidable that after two weeks of fighting, we have no spoils to bring to the city. It is with the heaviest of hearts that I report that the Levakian contingent of the army is returning home now. My sons and I came ahead to bring word of our return, and I suppose the Mihaka Toa over there is bringing word of the general retreat.”  
  
Toa Mira pushed her way past several onlookers and spoke directly to Rangatira Sarda.  
  
“Sir, I have much more urgent news. There was a great development after the Levakians left our ranks. Wondrous news you must act upon immediately!”  
  
Jira tried to approach Toa Mira and speak to her, but Quaxo caught him with one paw and held him back. For some reason, Toa Mira could feel Quaxo withdrawing from her mind, even though the intrusion went unnoticed.  
  
“Queen Whetu was, just four days ago, contacted by the Goddess Mahuika.” Toa Mira talked quickly, thinking of her friends locked in combat far from here. “The Goddess left specific instructions to be followed by both the people of Candon and their army in the field. Should we obey, we will acquire a year’s world of food. The famine will be over!”  
  
All of the surrounding people suddenly became a lot more animated. Nervous chatter grew louder as Jira scoffed.  
  
“Ridiculous.” Said the old lion.  
  
Toa Mira felt a powerful urge to just smack Jira in the face. She didn’t have time for this! Toa Enoka, Taki, Demeter, and Hysperia were fighting for their lives out there! One more time, Quaxo held Jira back, giving Toa Mira a look of encouragement.  
  
“It is not.” Toa Mira countered. “Great Rangatira, this is the most important moment in our history! The Goddess of Fire has commanded that all people in this city travel at once to the Valley Where the Wind Blows Loudly. It is five day’s journey from here without interruption, and when you reach your destination, you will find a Snowskin fortress that was conquered by Queen Whetu and her army!”  
  
Jira got to his feet and roared.  
  
“Do not listen to this girl!” He shouted to the Rangatira, Kings, and watching crowd. “Whetu has gone mad from the obsession with her quest. She has flouted the authority of our Empress and now presumes herself ruler of all who follow her. She dares to talk down to Levakians of high status, she has forgotten her place!”  
  
“Two of your daughters are fighting Snowskins right now to clear the way for our escape to the west!” Toa Mira retorted. “For all of us, even you!”  
  
Jira seemed to be quite unhinged now. Before anyone could say anything else, there was a wild commotion as another person pushed their way to the front of the crowd, demanding to be allowed to speak. With much jangling of jewelry and ceremonial clothes, Queen Whetu’s mother, Dalu Kealoha confronted Toa Mira, a look of desperate hope on her gaunt face.  
  
“Did you see Mahuika?” She asked. “Did the Fire Goddess speak to my daughter again?”  
  
Toa Mira nodded, which caused audible gasps from the crowd.  
  
“She stood atop a great mountain that threw fire into the sky.” Toa Mira confirmed. “And when she descended that holy mountain, Queen Whetu was filled with a whole new kind of energy and purpose! She was touched by the gods on that sacred summit! We must obey her commands now.”  
  
Toa Mira turned to address the gathered townsfolk.  
  
“All the people of Candon must prepare to travel at once! We must go west to meet the Queen and our destiny!”  
  
Jira pushed his way past Quaxo and raised his voice one final time.  
  
“Levakians! I remind you all that this Partogan Queen cast aside your leaders, abandoned her duties to your Empress as she lay dying! Whetu Kealoha is no friend of the Levakian people, and the same is true of any who flock to her side now! We cannot go west! We must not submit to the orders of a disobedient vassal!”  
  
Rangatira Sarda raised his hand, and there was silence.  
  
“Any Levakian who chooses to stay behind may do so.” He said. “Anyone else who seeks to obey the will of Queen Whetu of the Holy Mountain, gather your families and tell them to bring along only what they can carry. There is a long journey ahead of us.”  
  
…  
  
All told, just over three-quarters of Candon’s population chose to leave. Of the Levakians who remained, their numbers were quite thin. A significant majority of the Levakian population had died of starvation long before Toa Mira arrived. Women and children gathered up whatever food and water was left in the city, leaving behind only a small supply for the Levakians. What few men remained gathered weapons and followed Toa Mira out of the city. She knew she had left her friends by the dried up lake for far too long, and that anything could have gone wrong in that time.  
  
With an impromptu Hapu at her back, Toa Mira raced across the countryside, guiding the men towards the spot where she left her friends. Over the hills, through the trees, and out into the dry lakebed. At the beginning of this adventure, this trip took the army a full day. But now there was powerful urgency. Toa Mira was afraid. She wouldn’t rest until she saw that everybody was unharmed.  
  
“Look out there!” A Patariki Toa yelled. “Someone’s coming this way!”  
  
A solitary figure was crossing the lake. By the time they were spotted, the oncoming stranger was well beyond the waterhole where the Snowskins were encamped. It took Toa Mira about two seconds to understand the full magnitude of what she was looking at.  
  
 _She left four friends behind_. Where were they?  
  
Toa Mira was so desperate to find out what happened that she lost all sense of discipline. In a panic, she ran ahead of the Hapu, all thought of using her skill forgotten. In the distance, one dark shape became two as a bipedal figure dismounted from a quadrupedal one. Toa Mira didn’t stop running, not even when she got a painful stitch in her side, not even when a searing pain started to run up both of her legs. She had to see. She had to know.  
  
Toa Enoka and Hysperia were both covered in blood. Enoka’s spear was broken, he had a black eye, and a couple of his front teeth were missing. Blood dripped from Hysperia’s jaw and her breathing was ragged and strained. She winced each time a little air rushed past the point where one of her fangs had broken off.  
  
Toa Mira’s mind seemed to fill with a kind of fog. She couldn’t process anything she saw in front of her, even though the explanation for Taki and Demeter’s absence was fairly obvious.  
  
“What… What happened!?”  
  
Toa Enoka paused to spit some blood on the ground.  
  
“We got’em all.” He panted. “No more Snowskins.”  
  
“Toa Taki? Demeter?”  
  
Hysperia and Toa Enoka both hung their heads. Nothing more needed to be said.  
  
…  
  
Thousands of Partogans and a small handful of Levakians crossed the land, acting on the words of Rangatira Sarda. The great line of people was so long that it stretched on toward the horizon, kicking up a storm of dust as it went. Toa Mira, Toa Enoka, and Hysperia separated themselves from the great caravan just long enough to collect the remains of their friends.  
  
Demeter and Toa Taki had gone down fighting. Other men offered to carry Taki’s body, but Toa Mira rebuffed them all. The only people to carry her fallen companion would be herself, Toa Enoka, and Hysperia. Demeter’s remains were loaded onto a wagon and pulled behind the last group of Levakians to leave the city. Jira watched from Candon’s walls, alongside a few hundred of his kin who refused to undertake the journey.  
  
Toa Mira didn’t remember much of that final journey, just that she was incredibly miserable the whole time. She helped her friends cremate Toa Taki and Demeter that night on the far shores of the dried lake, and then passed the remainder of the trip in mournful silence, worrying about how she would break the tragic news to Taki’s brother, Toa Makani.  
  
Throughout the return to Whetu’s army, the Unnamed Mountain fell silent. Many hundreds of people gazed in awe while retelling Toa Enoka’s explanation of what the volcano had done. By the third day, the tale had become so distorted that most Partogans ascribed a kind of malevolent intelligence to the Mountain itself. It was aware of its surroundings, and it was displeased.  
  
The procession of Partogans started running out of food on the fourth day. Both Whetu’s army and the Snowskins had already picked the land clean, so there was new urgency to reach the valley as quickly as possible.  
  
Past now-abandoned Snowskin village, past the twin hills in the Steppe, skirting around the southern shores of Lake Naho, the ground was pounded into a road by thousands of pairs of feet passing over it. Finally, they came upon the ruins of what had, a week ago, been the camp of the Snowskin army. Following Whetu’s instructions, Toa Mira and Toa Enoka spread the word that everyone needed to make camp and wait for nightfall. In that time, dozens of brave men travelled to Lake Naho and eventually returned with a large catch of freshwater fish, having miraculously failed to trigger a reaction from the Silver Dragon.  
  
When the sun went down, five hilltops to the west began to shimmer and shine. A trail of Lightstones, deposited at the summit of each ridgeline, revealed where Whetu’s army had gone. Toa Mira felt a sense of relief wash over her. It was almost over…  
  
Almost.  
  
…  
  
The next day, the procession finally crossed into territory Toa Mira hadn’t seen before. The steppe terrain gave way to rolling plains and farmfields. Occasional houses or shacks dotted the landscape, and all were looted if not burned to the ground. The grasses and wheat was trampled by what could only be an advancing army. Finally, just after the sun was fully up in the sky and moving towards its noon position, Toa Enoka and Toa Mira noticed that the ground was starting to slope downward.  
  
They were entering a very wide valley.  
  
Laid out before the thousands of Partogans was a lowland area, characterized by a large ridgeline of hills on its northern and southern borders. Between the ridges, the ground sloped gently downward until it came to a place near the center where a canyon split the land. Impossibly deep for its narrow width, the canyon proceeded northwest in a straight line, in some places wider than the city of Candon, while in others, narrow enough to be linked together by a simple wooden bridge. In this valley, there was one landmark of note beside the canyon itself.  
  
A fortress, made of wood and stone, stood battered but mostly intact. Green and red flags waved triumphantly from the walls, while a number of cremation pyres were scattered around, reduced to ash and embers now that their job was complete.  
  
Several hundred Partogans, looking rough but happy, emerged from the gates and came to greet the refugees from Candon. Brothers and fathers rejoined their families, while the wives, mothers, and sisters of the fallen were consoled and comforted. Then the newcomers took note of the great cooking fires, and of the fresh meat and vegetables being prepared. Soups bubbled in pots while grains were piled high by the triumphant army. Toa Mira and Toa Enoka did not join the impromptu celebration. They simply walked past countless happy reunions and the opening moments of a victory feast, then stepped through the gates of the Snowskin fortress.  
  
Inside, they found a great mound of metal. Snowskin armor and weapons lay piled up on the ground, collected from the battlefield. Partogan weapons could be found in another corner. Further along, most of the buildings that could be found inside of the walls were looted or destroyed. On top of all this, a fire had swept through the stronghold, incinerating buildings and knocking down several portions of the wall, creating a horrifying ledge were a person could walk right up to the edge of the canyon.  
  
It was this edge where they found Tohunga Nixie. She was gazing forlornly over the edge in a way that told both Toa that some kind of tragedy had occurred in their absence.  
  
Toa Mira and Enoka approached her slowly, noticing that Nixie was sobbing and clutching a large green flag, stained with dried blood, in her hands. Calmly, quietly, Toa Mira put her hand on the Tohunga’s shoulder and asked:  
  
“What happened? Where’s Whetu?”  
  
…  
  
 _No account of that day’s battle was ever truly accurate or complete. Yet, the story Tohunga Nixie relayed to the Toa would persist throughout five-hundred-fifty years of Partogan culture, and is still told today. It contains details later revealed to be falsehoods or embellishments, but Nixie’s version of events is still the one most likely to be close to the truth:_  
  
…  
  
“Whetu didn’t come back to us until you were over the next ridge and out of sight.” Tohunga Nixie began. “Then she came back and asked me to help her pray to Ranginui, the heavenly Sky Father. We asked him to grant you safe passage to Candon.”  
  
“I doubt Ranginui was listening.” Toa Mira muttered darkly.  
  
“After that, Whetu visited the Kealoha Hapu.” Tohunga Nixie went on. “She sought our father’s advice. You see, when Jira deserted, he took all of the Levakians with him. We had no way to scout the enemy fortress. Whetu and Father summoned what remained of the Queen’s Company and we held a final council around the fire. Toa Makani Tamihana and Toa Kai Ranginui were selected to scout the enemy position. They departed at once. Meanwhile each of the remaining Toa, Makura, Ihu, and Tangaroa, were put in command of their own personal Hapu. Queen Whetu gave them specific orders to follow in the day’s battle. They were to take their Hapus around the sides to surround and outflank the enemy from any possible direction. It was a sound idea, since we expected the Snowskins to remain hidden behind their high walls.  
  
“Then, my sister gave me a command. I was to take the camp followers and the Snowskin people we captured previously. We were to lay out a trail of Lightstones, a trail meant for you to follow when you returned with the people of Candon.”  
  
“We found it.” Toa Enoka interrupted the story to give Nixie a thankful hug. “You did well.”  
  
“That was the last thing that went according to plan that day.” The Tohunga said. “The army moved out while it was still dark, and once our own task was complete, we had to race to catch up with them. The Snowskin fortress was in the bottom of the valley, adjacent to this horrible canyon. We wouldn’t figure out why they placed it here until it was too late.”  
  
Toa Enoka dared to ask the question:  
  
“Why? Why is the fortress down here?”  
  
Tohunga Nixie pointed up and said;  
  
“Listen.”  
  
The three Partogans held still and focused their attention on the sounds around them. Finally, Toa Mira and Toa Enoka picked up on low whistling and rustling. A stiff, firm wind blew for several minutes before dying down again.  
  
“There were wildfires all over the valley.” Tohunga Nixie said. “Started when the Mountain over there threw fire into the sky. The Snowskin King must have worked his own brand of magic onto them, because those fires seemed to change the way the wind blows, and the Snowskins took advantage of that. They used the wind itself as a weapon. When our army arrived in the valley, a terrible windstorm was brewing. Whetu’s hair fluttered and waved like a silver cape in the breeze, but things took a horrible turn.  
  
“As we started to encircle the Snowskin fortress, Toa Kai returned to us. He was carrying Toa Makani on his back. The Tamihana man was injured. He’d been struck by a strange weapon none of us have seen before.”  
  
Tohunga Nixie reached into the folds of her own cloak and withdrew a very long narrow object. It had three feathers attached to one end and a hard metal point on the other. Toa Mira pricked her finger on the point and withdrew her hand quickly. Nixie went on:  
  
“Toa Kai reported that there were no more than two hundred Snowskins inside the fortress, and only one quarter of them were warriors. The rest were village-folk looking to escape the mountain’s wrath. Every warrior inside the walls, fifty in all, was equipped with a strange bending device that he used to launch these projectiles. Toa Kai said that this pole flew through the air so quickly that his friend had no time to escape his fate. The only warning that an attack was coming was if the Snowskins bent their long rods into an arch shape with the aid of a string. In the days since, we’ve taken to calling these new warriors ‘archers’ because of this. In time, I fear this whole place will be named for these deadly warriors. Knowing the enemy was outnumbered, Whetu ordered the army to advance. There were one-thousand-five hundred Partogans to the enemy’s fifty. It was a mismatch. It should have been a mismatch.”  
  
Tohunga Nixie paused and took a breath that shook with emotion.  
  
“By the time the battle started, we were all caught in a windstorm. Whetu positioned herself at the front of a Hapu, she let the wind blow her silver hair around, so that everyone could see her leading from the front. Then the army began to move forward. I wasn’t with them. Myself and the other camp followers, we were on the nearby hill over there to the east. It looked like a great serpent or dragon coiled itself around the Snowskin fortress and started to constrict itself upon the foe. It was one of the most glorious things I’d ever seen, fifteen Hapus marching together. But then, Inari appeared on the walls.  
  
“He and all fifty of the Snowskin archers drew their launchers and started to fire volley after volley into Whetu’s army. It looked like a swarm of terrible insects lifted off from the fortress, arced through the sky, before descending upon our Toa and unleashing their fury. Each time a cloud of dark lines reached our lines, I saw men collapse to the ground.  
  
“Each time the wind changed directions, the Snowskins adjusted their aim. The winds carried their flying instruments of death wherever they wanted to go, and no part of the Partogan line was safe. Toa fell by the dozens. Some were killed outright, while others were maimed horribly and left behind to scream in agony. Meanwhile, the army continued to advance, losing warriors every step of the way as the Snowskins carried on their attacks from long range.  
  
“Our men were losing their morale. Seeing their brothers and friends being struck down by flying death that whistled would frighten anyone. But the Toa could still see Whetu. She held her crystal sword in one hand, advancing at a steady pace. Her father kept at her side, and men from every Hapu fell into line behind her. They screamed and shouted and sang Haka until…  
  
“Inari commanded his archers to alter their aim once again. He must have spotted Whetu’s silver hair, or perhaps he was taking advantage of yet another change in the wind. Either way, he picked up a flagpole from the wall. From it flew a green banner with a gold symbol in the center. He waved the flag as a signal, and then pointed towards the point of shimmering silver light that was Whetu’s long hair flowing in the high wind.  
  
“Fifty dark lines shot through the air, carried by the winds which favored the enemy. There was one almighty gust that made a terrible rushing sound, like the gods themselves were racing the barrage. Then, oh great calamity! Queen Whetu was struck. A single feathered shaft impacted her arm and our great Queen fell to the ground. It seemed as though the whole army halted. No man dared to advance beyond the point where she fell. It was hopeless, pointless even, to consider pressing on. But that was the moment when our fortunes changed.  
  
“Behind us, the great mountain awoke! In a fit of rage and fury, the mountain spat flames higher into the sky than you can possibly comprehend. The skies darkened as the noon sun vanished behind a pillar of smoke. Then, the winds grew stronger than ever. The green flag was pulled out of Inari’s hand. It tore off the flagpole entirely and flew towards our own army. The green flag landed near the spot where Whetu fell. Even from where I stood, I could see that my magnificent sister was still alive! She pulled the wooden shaft out of her arm and threw it away. Then Queen Whetu grabbed the fallen flag and wrapped it tightly around her wounded arm. The gold symbol in the center of the banner was stained red with the Queen’s blood. Finally, she picked up her crystal sword and shouted to the men behind her:  
  
 _‘To the end! Who will come with me?’_  
  
“After that, the Queen started running towards the Snowskin fortress. All of our men found the last of their courage and charged after her. Even the gods were with us now. The winds changed direction, causing all of the projectiles launched from the wall to fall short of our men. Finally, when Queen Whetu was about two hundred paces away from the fortress gate, the mountain chose a side. A ball of flame shot out of the top of the mountain, just like we’ve seen before. It tumbled from the skies and crashed into the Snowskin stronghold, breaching the wall and setting the interior buildings on fire.  
  
“After that, it was chaos. Queen Whetu was the first one through the hole in the wall, followed by her father and most of the Kealoha Hapu. There were so many Partogans trying to get through the hole in the wall that a huge mass of our own warriors started to cluster outside. Snowskin archer turned their weapons down and launched their deadly tools into the crowd below. The bodies of our Toa began to pile up so much that Toa were constantly treading on the bodies of their fallen comrades.  
  
“Just when it seemed like our army would be massacred, the front gate of the stronghold opened from the inside! A second entry was made, and now Partogans flowed into the Snowskin fortress like water. Finally, the archers were forced to turn around and fight within the walls of their own home. Meanwhile, the fire continued to burn. Like the rest of the fortress, the defensive walls were made of wood. They burned and collapsed, leaving the ledge we’re standing on now. From our vantage point on the hill, I could see what happened next, but that doesn’t mean I understand it.  
  
“A great melee took place inside the Snowskin fortress. Men of all ages, warriors and villagers alike, took up arms to fight against our Toa. Even a few of their women joined the fight. The battle was in the roads and gardens and buildings. It was everywhere. In the midst of it all, I saw my sister, the Queen. She’d been separated from our father, but was holding up on her own very well. Inari saw her too. He pointed one hand at the Queen and a purple light filled the space between him and her. It was like a bolt of lightning jumped out of his body, hit Whetu, bounced off her, and then rebounded on Inari.  
  
“It didn’t look like the Queen was hurt, but she didn’t have enough time to do anything before a gold light enveloped Inari and spirited him away. He simply vanished. A few moments later, he re-appeared. The fight between Whetu and Inari proceeded this way for several minutes and fell into a pattern.  
  
“From what I saw, the Snowskin King was highly reliant on magic for fighting, but none of the spells or enchantments he cast on my sister seemed to work. Each time a spell bounced off her, she’d retaliate with her crystal sword. She struck Inari many times, only for him to vanish and then reappear. Each time he came back, Inari was unharmed… almost as though whatever injury my sister inflicted on him never happened. But then, Whetu finally got the upper hand. She struck his sword with her own and disarmed him. With no weapon of his own, he fell to his knees. Around both of them, the battle was ending. Nearly all of the Snowskins were killed. Inari was one of the last alive. He looked helpless, unable to fight with a weapon or with magic. I thought it was over. I cheered and yelled and celebrated with the others who were on the hill with me.  
  
“Down below, Partogans used well water to douse the fires that threatened whatever food was inside the buildings that weren’t destroyed. Some Toa approached Queen Whetu. Father rejoined my sister and they embraced. It was over. We were victorious. It should have been over… but in that moment when Whetu’s back was turned… that… that’s when…”  
  
Tohunga Nixie’s voice cracked.  
  
She lowered herself down and sat on the ledge, her feet dangling over the side. Toa Mira and Toa Enoka were too shocked for words. They each found the wall of a building to lean against and take deep breaths. Toa Enoka’s head was spinning. He put his hands to his temples and commanded the internal screaming in his mind to stop. Toa Mira started hyperventilating. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on anything, anything at all, but it wouldn’t work.  
  
After a moment, Nixie finished her tale.  
  
“Inari drew a short blade, a knife, a dagger, or something like that. He rose and charged at the Queen. She and Father both wrestled and grappled with Inari while other Toa tried to join in. There was such a crush of bodies that I couldn’t see who was doing what. All I know, is that the group of fighters slowly wrestled their way over here… and then, about five people went over the side and fell into the canyon. Father was left on the edge, with this in his hand.”  
  
Tohunga Nixie held up the bloodstained green flag. She was starting to cry again.  
  
“He had her.” She sobbed. “He was holding her arm when Inari performed his vanishing trick one last time. Father said that Whetu was holding onto Inari when he vanished. By then, she was… she… she was… _Whetu fell_.”  
  
Toa Enoka slumped to the ground, his hands around his knees, mouth dry. Toa Mira kept her eyes closed, turned her face up to the sky, and choked on her own misery. Tohunga Nixie’s consolation was small and meaningless in the face of this tragic news:  
  
“About half a minute later, Inari reappeared again. He was in exactly the same spot he’d been in when he vanished, which was about halfway over the ledge. We let him fall.”  
  
…  
  
What should have been a glorious victory celebration was tempered by the sudden loss of Queen Whetu. For the first time in months, there was enough food to satisfy the roughly five-thousand Partogans who were camped in and around the Snowskin fortress. There was so much food stockpiled inside the enemy stronghold that all talk of executing the nearly four hundred Snowskin captives was quickly abandoned. Instead, the few Snowskin women and children who survived the battle would be treated as prizes of battle and distributed amongst the victors accordingly. The Mihaka, Ranginui, and Patariki families received the largest share of slaves, food, weapons, and other treasures found inside the Snowskin stronghold.  
  
After three days of feasting, funerals, and celebrating. The question “What’s next?” permeated through the Partogan diaspora like the unceasing winds of this region. Cautious wanderers flitted away from the massive camp in the early mornings and explored the surrounding area. As it turned out, the Partogans found themselves in a much better place to live than on the shores of Candon.  
  
This region was a fertile plain, good for farming. Small rivers led back to Lake Naho in the east, while the archer’s canyon proceeded to the northwest. To the south of the canyon, Snowskin villages sent messengers bearing offers of unconditional surrender. Somehow, word of the great battle was spreading throughout the lands to the west.  
  
But the greatest discovery came about a week after the Battle of Archer’s Canyon.  
  
A young man, the last male of the Tamihana family following the death of Toa Makani, spent a whole day traveling as far to the west as he could, and when he returned the following morning, he reported a wondrous find. There was another ocean nearby, and on its shoreline, a Snowskin city lay abandoned. It was buried underneath a fine layer of ash that could be removed with a great deal of work, but had otherwise survived the end of the world relatively intact. The city was surrounded by farmland that was just waiting to be put to use. It was the perfect place to build a home… well, it was almost perfect.  
  
The city was built in the shadow of the great mountain. Every morning, Partogans would wake up and be reminded of the volcano that nearly ended everything for everyone. But this city in the west was still an immeasurable improvement over Candon. Snowskins in the outlying villages were replaced with Partogans, and in time, they would vanish completely. Farms produced a grand harvest, people were healthy and happy. A new era of Partogan prosperity was clearly dawning on the world.  
  
…  
  
One year after the Battle of Archer’s Canyon, the surviving members of the Queen’s Company gathered outside of the new Kealoha family home in Wanaka, a small village outside of the newly-founded Partogan City. The anniversary was marked with a solemn ceremony, and it ended with Dalu Kealoha revealing a project she had been working on for the past year.  
  
It was a new flag to represent the Kealoha family. A green banner with a red circle in the center, and four gold crescents arranged around the inside edges of the circle. While one of Toa Enoka’s younger cousins ran around the yard with the flag, pretending to be a dragon, he crossed the garden to speak with Toa Mira. She was resting beneath a tree, watching the Unnamed Mountain, which had been silent for a year.  
  
“Be honest.” He said in a jovial tone. “When we left Candon on that first day, I don’t think any of us expected our future to be like this. Did you?”  
  
“Of course not.” Toa Mira replied, “But if we stayed there, we would have no future at all. I prefer an uncertain path forward to a nonexistent one, do you agree?”  
  
“Certainly.” Toa Enoka agreed. “For all we know, this might just be the beginning of something great. If only our friends the Tamihanas could have seen this.”  
  
“Because we do get to live out this destiny, Taki and Makani did not die in vain.” Toa Mira concluded. “The same is true for Demeter… and for Whetu.”  
  
Toa Mira stood up and took one last look at the Mountain before shifting her gaze to her friend.  
  
“You are right.” Toa Mira said. “We have witnessed a beginning. Of what? I have no idea.”  
  
“Neither do I.” Toa Enoka admitted. “But I know it’s going to be great.”  
  
  
  
  
  
THE END.


	15. Ending at the Beginning

Whetu Kealoha’s life ended the instant she hit the waters of the Raki Nui River, but her journey did not end there, at the bottom of Archer’s Canyon.  
  
The river, whose current was strong and fast, carried Whetu’s body far downstream. The waters moved in a rapid, chaotic fashion carving out the riverbed and making the canyon just a little deeper with each passing year. Whetu’s remains passed through treacherous rapids, over waterfalls of all shapes and sizes, and around sharp bends. The fast-moving river was so destructive to the land around it that not only had it carved a deep gorge into the terrain, but it also breached an ancient system of underground cave. Subterranean lakes and rivers long ago became part of the Raki Nui River.  
  
Whetu’s body became caught in a powerful current. Dragged below the surface, her corpse was sucked into the entrance of a subterranean river. The Queen’s remains were pulled though darkness for several minutes until…  
  
With a great crash and rushing of water, Whetu Kealoha washed ashore in a cave. This opening was just large enough for two or three Partogans to stand upright in, but most of the space that wasn’t covered in water was already filled.  
  
The chamber where Whetu came to rest was filled with gigantic Lightstone crystals. They illuminated the cave as brightly as though the sun itself was shining through the water’s surface nearby. When Whetu’s crystal sword washed ashore beside her a few minutes later, it seemed to be insignificant in comparison to the wondrous formations that grew from floor to ceiling and threw their light in all directions. It was here, inside of a wondrous cave that would eventually be named “The Vault of Light” that Whetu Kealoha finally came to rest. Around her, the world carried on its way. The Raki Nui River continued digging out the canyon, sinking lower and lower into the ground as time went by. Eventually, the cave was completely cut off from the river, as the waterway changed course.  
  
Whetu would remain undisturbed as the powers of nature reduced her body to bone and eventually dust. Before long, the only remaining evidence of the first Queen of Partoga was the Soulkeeper, the crystalline sword that seemed to contain its own unique energy. Dust gathered upon the weapon, and it was buried.  
  
After the Battle of Archer’s Canyon, the Vault of Light would remain undisturbed for five-hundred-twenty-one years. On our own calendars, it was the eleventh day of September in the year 2036 when something happened again in that cave.  
  
On that day, over a distant world about thirty-five hundred light-years away, a great battle called the War in Heaven was fought. The fate of the very universe was at stake, and many powerful beings took part in the apocalyptic conflict. During the climax of the fighting, one of the combatants struck a blow against Time itself.  
  
For an unknowable length of time, the natural order of things was abolished. Time ran in all directions and at all speeds. The crystals in the cave grew and shrank. The Raki Nui River rose and fell as it aged or regressed. Small plants, fungi, and creatures who lived in the cave relived their entire lives across fractions of a moment or the most eternal of centuries.  
  
Amidst this chaos, neither Whetu nor the Soulkeeper were exempt. The natural process by which Whetu’s body returned to the earth was reversed. First bones, then muscle and tissues, before Whetu’s body was restored to the way it had been mere moments before her death. A life force made entirely of Psionic energy returned to Whetu and, like a movie being played backwards, merged with her body exactly the same way it departed five centuries ago. At the same time, crystals of light continued to grow and decay and change around the cave. The presence of Whetu’s body did not impede these changes.  
  
As time continued to spiral out of control, a gargantuan Lightstone crystal began to grow around Whetu’s body. The Psionic life-force that was simultaneously evacuating and re-inhabiting her body reached out and drew the crystal around itself like a blanket. In mere seconds, or perhaps a couple-thousand millennia, a formation of Lightstone crystals enveloped Whetu’s body. Soon, the first Queen of Partoga was totally encased within the formation. This was when the Lightstones revealed their most underestimated quality: Everything inside of the crystals, _including Whetu’s body_ , was now being protected from the chaos outside. Her body would go through no more changes as a result of the Great Disruption.  
  
Just as the last hair on Whetu’s intact body was encased in crystal, or perhaps several decades after the fact, the normal flow of time was abruptly restored. The Great Disruption came to an end and the cave was silent once more, but it was transformed into a different place entirely. Despite everything that happened, Whetu’s body was still there, perfectly restored. Her eyes closed, it looked as though the young Queen had simply fallen asleep inside of a Lightstone. The silhouette of her body hung on the walls and ceiling, outlined by a halo of gentle light.  
  
Finally, one last thing happened.  
  
Just a few minutes after the Great Disruption ended, all of the Lightstones went out. It was as though a cosmic switch was flipped, dousing nearly every source of light in the cave simultaneously. Darkness would have enveloped the Vault of Light, if not for a single crystal.  
  
The Lightstone containing Whetu’s body was still lit, even after all others had gone out. Soft, warm light seemed to emanate from Whetu herself, keeping the chamber dimly illuminated as all other sources of light failed.  
  
Now safe, secure, and well lit in her crystalline resting place, Whetu Kealoha was left undisturbed for a further thirty-nine years.  
  
…  
  
In the early months of the year 2075, a group of Partogans, who styled themselves as “amateur explorers and reckless thrill-seekers,” attempted the greatest adventure of their lives. They descended into Archer’s Canyon beneath silk parachutes and used the latest high-tech wingsuits to land safely. Then they started to explore the caves beneath and around the Raki Nui River. Using flashlights mounted on their helmets, the team carefully worked their way through the caves in single-file line. Constantly calling back and forth to one another, the group of six adventurers wore technologically sophisticated masks that allowed them to breathe in this harsh environment.  
  
After about three hours of spelunking, the adventure crew decided to take a rest in a large trench carved out by the Raki Nui River long ago. They took off their helmets and sipped from a pouch containing liquefied meals. The companions chattered excitedly to one another for some time before one of them, a man whose face was full of self-confidence, pointed to something just over his friend’s shoulder.  
  
“Hey, Anaru.” He said. “You might wanna kill your light before the batteries die.”  
  
The man named Anaru held up his helmet to show that his light was already off. Puzzled, the six adventurers looked around to see what their companion was pointing at. A gentle light shimmered from a cave high above their heads. The group acted like a well-oiled machine. They gathered their tools and started to climb the vertical rock face. In mere moments, they reached the Vault of Light and laid their eyes upon the last illuminated Lightstone in the Galaxy. It took them much longer to fully accept the reality of what… or rather _who_ , was contained inside of it.  
  
Once the body of Whetu Kealoha was discovered, things moved very quickly.  
  
…  
  
 _June 5, 2076  
High Orbit above Partoga, Trecta Star System  
  
  
_Far above the ruined and abandoned planet, a grand old starship awaited the arrival of a shuttlecraft.  
  
The _LVK Mami Tamihana_ was a relic from the Second Hyperspace War, but that didn’t stop her from being the pride and joy of the Levakian people. Nearly twelve kilometers long and four kilometers high, the city-sized spacecraft boasted immense foundries that allowed her to construct and maintain a whole fleet of vessels. The ship’s outer hull was painted with the orange and yellow colors of the Levakian Confederation, a member-state of the Partogan-Levakian Commonwealth.  
  
Down below, the planet once known as the Partogan Homeworld carried on its slow orbit around the orange star. The world itself was dead, having been slain by a cosmic nightmare creature during the aforementioned war. A dense grey fog shrouded the entire planet, making it impossible to see the surface features below.  
  
The heavy shuttle wasn’t visible until the moment it erupted through the cloudtops. Escorted by a pair of space-superiority fighters, the shuttle made its way towards the _Mami Tamihana_ and slipped silently into her hangar bay.  
  
However, the docking berth inside of the ship was far from silent.  
  
Nearly five thousand people were waiting for the shuttle to arrive, they had crammed themselves into the hangar bay and started wildly celebrating as the ship came into view. Partogans waved their nation’s green and red flag above their heads while Levakians roared and held their tails high with pride.  
  
Scattered throughout the crowd were members of other alien species allied to the Partogans. Tiny reptilian Kelt rode on the shoulders of Assurians, people who were shaped roughly like Partogans and had thick leathery hide in place of softer skin. Vanians, great birds with beautiful brightly colored feathers, soared through the air in great joy. The Amadii were also avian in nature, but they were flightless and expressed their happiness in song, harmonizing with their airborne cousins. Micore androids moved around the crowd, offering congratulations and well-wishes to all of their organic comrades. A small number of Humans cheered and clapped along with everyone else, their faces beaming with joyful smiles.  
  
Finally there were about two dozen Hybrids scattered throughout the crowd. These life-forms were the result of cross-species reproduction. The majority of hybrids were Human/Partogan, but a few other mixtures could be seen, most notably a feathered creature that was mostly Amadii, but possessed Vanian beauty.  
  
Under the watchful gaze of the audience, the shuttle landed at a specially designed berth. A stage was erected here along with a podium and a massive flatscreen television. The crowd turned all of their attention to this point.  
  
The shuttle’s cargo bay doors dropped open and became a ramp. Six members of the Commonwealth Green Guard slowly descended, carrying a glass sarcophagus between them. Inside of this container, plainly visible for all to see, was the Lightstone crystal that contained Whetu’s body. It shimmered and shone brilliantly, and the shadow of Whetu’s lifeless form dazzled all who looked upon it.  
  
While the sarcophagus was carefully placed on the platform, three Partogans came to the podium and tested the microphone. Then one of them, a Partogan man dressed in a military uniform, addressed the crowd:  
  
“Soldiers and sailors of the Triple Alliance.” The man started. “As your commanding officer, I do not feel the need to tell you how our mission went. You can see the results for yourselves!”  
  
He gestured toward the crystallized body of Partoga’s first Queen. Cheering and yelling threatened to raise the ceiling. Someone in the crowd started a chant of:  
  
“Jericho’s blessings be with you!”  
  
The gathered people repeated the chant as the officer raised his hand and tried to quiet the crowd.  
  
“It is thanks to the hard work of every life-form, be they organic or machines, that the very first Queen of our great nation will finally return home! Now, let us hear a message from her Majesty’s elected successor!”  
  
The flatscreen behind him flickered to life. Life forms who were too far away pulled out their pocket computers so they could see the message too. The official symbol of the Queen of Partoga appeared on-screen: two small circles and a large circle held between a pair of double crescents. This was followed up by the voice of a male Partogan:  
  
“By the grace and pride of the Holy Mountain, presenting the elected successor of the Great Whetu Kealoha, Master of Aoraki, Sovereign of all Partogans and Levakians. Commander-in-Chief of the Green Guard, Matriarch of the Church of the Mountain, President-for-Life of the Triple Alliance, Permanent Member of the Galactic Council Security Council, Overlord of Amadiio, Rotorua, and Assuria. Guardian of the Vanian Diaspora, Grand Master of the Order of the Green Star, Custodian of the Cathedral of Kadesh, Keeper of Tenhauser Gate, Caretaker of the National Graveyard, her Royal Majesty: Marka Ranginui, Queen of the Commonwealth!”  
  
The image on the screen shifted, showing a Partogan woman who looked to be in her early twenties. Queen Marka waited for the crowd to finish chanting “Long live the Queen” before launching into her speech.  
  
“Five hundred and fifty years ago, great men and women founded a new nation. It was built from their blood and sweat, forged in fire, and tested in battle before its flag ever flew. None of them could have known at the time the great things their descendants would do. The mothers and fathers of our nations could not have begun to imagine or comprehend that the Kingdom they built would one day have the power to move mountains, sail between the stars, or conquer a vicious monster from beyond our own Galaxy. But I am convinced that our forebears were able to look towards the future and know beyond all possible doubt that they and their children stood on the precipice of unknowable greatness. Now, due entirely the hard work, dedication, and perseverance of the crew of the Levakian Mothership _Mami Tamihana,_ the body of our first Queen has been retrieved and will be returned home. In doing this, you honor Queen Whetu’s memory. You respect her sacrifice for our nation, and make yourselves into the next generation of heroes that our great Commonwealth has been waiting for. I wish you all safe travels, and I will personally await your arrival on Aoraki. May the Queens of our past guide you well.”  
  
…  
  
With all of her shuttlecraft secured and Whetu’s crystalized body safely locked away in a vault, the Levakian mothership turned for home. Leaving the Graveworld of Partoga behind, the _Mami Tamihana_ seemed to just slip into a Quantum Wafefront and vanish into Hyperspace. It would take three jumps to reach home.  
  
…  
  
 _June 5, 2076  
The Sea of Lost Souls, Near the Great Wastelands_  
  
  
The _Mami Tamihana_ dropped out of Hyperspace right on schedule, arriving in a region of space that once formed part of the outermost border of the now-defunct Kingdom of Partoga. On the ship’s bridge, three Partogans gathered at the central dais for a meeting. There was no great urgency. They just needed to kill time while the Hyperspace module recharged.  
  
The first was the officer in charge of the whole mission. Fleet Admiral Rawiri Maaka was a severe man. A veteran of the Second Hyperspace War, he took his job seriously at all times. The second Partogan was his second-in-command, Captain Kauri Patariki. Like his boss, Kauri was also a veteran of the war, but he was nowhere near as jaded as his superior. The last person was a civilian. Specifically, he was an archeologist named Meto Mihaka. Meto was in an especially good mood. He was the one who had planned out the entire mission: the recovery and return of Whetu’s body to Aoraki, the new homeworld of the Partogan people following the loss of their old one.  
  
“Sir, everything is by the numbers.” Captain Patariki reported. “We’re making good time to the Capitol.”  
  
“Excellent.” Fleet Admiral Maaka replied. “Well, mister Mihaka, I’ll be sad to see you go. You got your space legs much faster than most civilians we’ve had to haul around. It was a downright pleasure.”  
  
“I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of one another.” Meto answered in a friendly tone. “I’m going to try and convince her Majesty to fund another expedition. I’m convinced we missed the sword only by a few dozen Bios. It’s definitely still down there somewhere.”  
  
To prove his point, Meto produced a map of the cave system from his pocket. Together, he and the two officers spread it out on the flat top of a holographic sensors manager. They started to discuss the many ways a cave system could change over five centuries and all of the possible resting places of Whetu’s crystal sword. This went on for several minutes until a lower officer tapped Captain Patariki on the back and said:  
  
“Sir, we have a report from sensors: Hyperspace signature. It appears to be a Human vessel. Distance, nine hundred Kios and closing.”  
  
“Are they transmitting any recognition codes?” Captain Patariki asked.  
  
“No sir.” The officer replied. “I’ll keep you apprised.”  
  
Meto and the two officers continued discussing the crystal sword.  
  
“It’s not made from the same materiel as the Lightstones.” Fleet Admiral Maaka pointed out. “Lightstones are Psionic insulators. The sword was most likely a conductor. It may not respond to our scanners unless we present it with a source of Psionic energy.”  
  
“That may be difficult.” Meto said. “Jericho was pretty thorough in what she did. The Psionic energy inside that Lightstone with Queen Whetu is the very last Psionic energy in the entire Universe. We can’t afford to spend it looking for her sword.”  
  
At that moment, one of the bridge crew spoke up from his station.  
  
“Captain, there’s a civilian ship approaching us at high speed. Time to intercept, five minutes.”  
  
Both officers groaned and looked up from their work.  
  
“Make challenge.” Captain Patariki said. “Warn him off.”  
  
The bridge officer nodded and then began speaking into a microphone.  
  
“Attention unidentified spacecraft. This is the _LVK Mami Tamihana_. You are penetrating restricted military space. Turn away immediately. Repeat, you are on approach towards a military spacecraft without permission. Turn away now.”  
  
Meto was not a military man, but he was curious about how this process worked. He rolled up his map, tucked it into his jacket and leaned against the railing of the dais to watch.  
  
There were nearly two dozen people on the bridge, and all species who were members or allies of the Commonwealth were represented here. A Vanian flew from one side of the bridge to the other, delivering messages. Two Humans were pouring over the latest sensor data while a Human/Levakian Hybrid looked over their shoulder.  
  
Fleet Admiral Maaka tapped the two Human officers on the shoulder and said:  
  
“Identify that vessel for me.”  
  
One of the Humans, a South American man, pointed towards the sensor screen and spoke in a Hispanic accent:  
  
“Señor Maaka, that is a Cantabria-class freighter. He’s most likely hauling water ice or something like that.”  
  
“Captain, is he acknowledging our challenge?” Fleet Admiral Maaka asked.  
  
While all this was going on, the other members of the bridge crew were still trying to make contact with the oncoming ship.  
  
“Attention Human spacecraft.” The comms officer tried again. “You are on approach to a military vessel of the Partogan-Levakian Commonwealth. Change course immediately or you will be fired upon. I repeat: Change your course immediately. You are on an intercept course with a military vessel. Divert at once or you will be fired upon.”  
  
“No luck sir.” Captain Patariki replied. “Trajectory station says they’re going to pass 400 Bios off our port side.”  
  
“That’s damn peculiar.” The Fleet Admiral said. “Captain, I think you should put the ship on alert.”  
  
Meanwhile, the two starships were now flying directly towards one another. Just as Captain Patariki predicted, their courses were parallel. The Human freighter and the Levakian warship would pass so close to one another, it would be possible for the crew to see each other through the windows. As the two starships drew nearer, the crew of the _Mami Tamihana_ was able to make a positive identification.  
  
“Sir!” A bridge officer caught Captain Patariki’s attention. “Fleet Intelligence is now ninety-nine percent confident that the other vessel is the Earth ship _SS Rocinante._ A registered cargo hauler. No weapons. Last seen at Tenhauser Gate five days ago.”  
  
“Tenhauser Gate?” the Fleet Admiral replied. “That’s over four thousand Lightyears from here!”  
  
It all happened in about three seconds.  
  
In the first second, Captain Patariki realized what was about to happen and shouted:  
  
“General Quarters! All hands to battle stations!”  
  
In the next second, the Human starship commenced its flyby of the _Mami Tamihana_. In that moment, the freighter seemed to… _transform._ Its hull changed shape. Cargo modules turned into weapon blisters. A surplus radiator reformed into a military grade Hyperspace Module. And the white letters painted on the side of the ship morphed. In the first moment, they said:  
  


_SS Rocinante – Barcelona, Spain_

  
In the next moment, the name of the ship changed to:  
  


_UNS Kurt Waldheim – Armed Forces of the United Nations of Earth_

  
And then in that final second, the Scharnhorst-class Dreadnaught drew level with the aging Mothership and opened fire! Energy cannons, Mass Drivers, nuclear missiles and Ion beams tore into the _Mami Tamihana’s_ hull, sending pulverized metal and wreckage into the void. Bright blue Ion beams drilled into the hull breaches while nuclear blasts continued to peel away whole sections of the Mothership’s exterior!  
  
On the Mothership’s bridge, it was chaos. Smoke and flame filled the room as everyone tried to make sense of the situation.  
  
“What the hell just happened!?” Fleet Admiral Maaka yelled.  
  
“The bastards were using holograms!” some officer replied. “Fooled us all!”  
  
“Damage report!” Captain Patariki shouted.  
  
“Comms tower is down!” An officer replied. “Hyperspace module damaged, launch bays are out of commission! All smaller ships are trapped in the hangar deck! They knew how to hit us!”  
  
While Meto struggled to pull himself to his feet, Captain Patariki and Fleet Admiral Maaka were standing back-to-back. They had taken full command.  
  
“Computer!” Fleet Admiral Maaka called out. “Make a note in the ship’s log: Engaged Human super-capitol ship at midday.”  
  
“Ensign Ranginui! Polarize armor and bring weapons online!” Captain Patariki ordered.  
  
“No, that’s negative!” An officer replied. “We’re losing power! The main reactor is damaged!”  
  
“Give me auxiliary power!” the Captain replied. “Divert all power to the armor!”  
  
“Too late!” A sensors officer yelled. “They’re coming around! Torpedo off the port side!”  
  
WHAM!  
  
Meto was thrown off his feet as the ship was hit again! A whole section of the ceiling collapsed into the bridge, crushing a Human officer beneath twisted metal and shattered circuits. Meto lost track of the Admiral and Captain. Crawling on his hands and knees, he scrambled away from the wreckage as a serene computerized voice spoke loudly over the intercom:  
  
“Intruder alert, deck one! Intruder alert, deck one!”  
  
Somewhere behind that tangled mess of wreckage, the Captain shouted:  
  
“Breaching pods on the hull! We’ve been boarded! Everyone barricade yourselves in place! Ranginui, send out a distress call on all frequencies.”  
  
Meto was on the verge of panic. In his whole life, he’d never been in a fight, let alone one as chaotic or destructive as this. The only thing he could think of was escaping. He needed to get off the ship! Weren’t there escape pods down the hall from the bridge? As soon as the idea entered his head, Meto was making a run for it. There was only one door leading away from the bridge. Moving quickly, Meto crossed the wrecked chamber and pulled the hatch open…  
  
There were four Humans standing outside the bridge. Dressed in full battle gear, it was obvious at a glance that these were UN Space Marines. The letters “AFUNE” were printed across the collars of their uniforms, and the last detail that Meto took note of was that one of the soldiers was pointing a Gauss rifle at him.  
  
Meto wasn’t really aware of being shot. The adrenaline was rushing to his head so quickly that he simply kept trying to run away after the first Gauss round passed through his gut. Keeping his back to the Humans, Meto made a mad dash for the escape pods. He felt a powerful pushing sensation that caused him to fall forward!  
  
On the floor of the darkened hallway, Meto finally realized he’d been shot in the back. Intense pain started spreading out from his left shoulder, and his breath caught in his chest.  
  
“No!” He gasped out loud, too panicked or frightened to say anything else. “No, no, please no!”  
  
Behind him, the sounds of gunfire and explosions rang out from the bridge for a few seconds before dying away. Then, there were two sets of voices talking somewhere nearby:  
  
“All command and control points pacified. They can’t scuttle the ship anymore.” Said a Human male. “We’ve taken control. What’s next?”  
  
“Transfer Kealoha’s body to our ship right away.” Replied the slightly high-pitched voice of a Human female. “Then search the place for any actionable Intel. When you’re done, use their signal buoy to send out a distress call. I’ll inform the Galactic Council that the Partogans were attacked by pirates and all aboard were killed.”  
  
The dual sets of footsteps parted ways. Two Humans were walking around Meto. Using the last of his strength and fighting against the mind-numbing pain of multiple gunshot wounds, Meto rolled over so he was lying faceup. Both of the Humans stopped in their tracks and looked down at him. Through a haze of pain that clouded his vision, Meto saw two Humans standing above him, a man and a woman.  
  
“Help.” Meto gasped, gurgling on his own blood. “Please… help me.”  
  
A man with wavy blonde hair shook his head in disgust, then unholstered a Gauss pistol. He looked across at his companion.  
  
A woman with straight black hair took the pistol from him. In the darkness, her pale skin and vivid blue eyes made her look like a nightmarish demon. She pointed the weapon at Meto’s head and hissed:  
  
“Xeno scum.”  
  
There was a loud crack, a flash of light, and Meto Mihaka knew no more.


End file.
